Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Amazon.com

The life and times of Abraham Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography? In Team of Rivals, esteemed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin proves that we do. Though she can't help but cover some familiar territory, her perspective is focused enough to offer fresh insights into Lincoln's leadership style and his deep understanding of human behavior and motivation. Goodwin makes the case for Lincoln's political genius by examining his relationships with three men he selected for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860: William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. These men, all accomplished, nationally known, and presidential, originally disdained Lincoln for his backwoods upbringing and lack of experience, and were shocked and humiliated at losing to this relatively obscure Illinois lawyer. Yet Lincoln not only convinced them to join his administration--Seward as secretary of state, Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Bates as attorney general--he ultimately gained their admiration and respect as well. How he soothed egos, turned rivals into allies, and dealt with many challenges to his leadership, all for the sake of the greater good, is largely what Goodwin's fine book is about. Had he not possessed the wisdom and confidence to select and work with the best people, she argues, he could not have led the nation through one of its darkest periods.

Ten years in the making, this engaging work reveals why "Lincoln's road to success was longer, more tortuous, and far less likely" than the other men, and why, when opportunity beckoned, Lincoln was "the best prepared to answer the call." This multiple biography further provides valuable background and insights into the contributions and talents of Seward, Chase, and Bates. Lincoln may have been "the indispensable ingredient of the Civil War," but these three men were invaluable to Lincoln and they played key roles in keeping the nation intact. --Shawn Carkonen

The Team of Rivals

Team of Rivals doesn't just tell the story of Abraham Lincoln. It is a multiple biography of the entire team of personal and political competitors that he put together to lead the country through its greatest crisis. Here, Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles five of the key players in her book, four of whom contended for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and all of whom later worked together in Lincoln's cabinet.

1. Edwin M. Stanton
Stanton treated Lincoln with utter contempt at their initial acquaintance when the two men were involved in a celebrated law case in the summer of 1855. Unimaginable as it might seem after Stanton's demeaning behavior, Lincoln offered him "the most powerful civilian post within his gift"--the post of secretary of war--at their next encounter six years later. On his first day in office as Simon Cameron's replacement, the energetic, hardworking Stanton instituted "an entirely new regime" in the War Department. After nearly a year of disappointment with Cameron, Lincoln had found in Stanton the leader the War Department desperately needed. Lincoln's choice of Stanton revealed his singular ability to transcend personal vendetta, humiliation, or bitterness. As for Stanton, despite his initial contempt for the man he once described as a "long armed Ape," he not only accepted the offer but came to respect and love Lincoln more than any person outside of his immediate family. He was beside himself with grief for weeks after the president's death.
2. Salmon P. Chase
Chase, an Ohioan, had been both senator and governor, had played a central role in the formation of the national Republican Party, and had shown an unflagging commitment to the cause of the black man. No individual felt he deserved the presidency as a natural result of his past contributions more than Chase himself, but he refused to engage in the practical methods by which nominations are won. He had virtually no campaign and he failed to conciliate his many enemies in Ohio itself. As a result, he alone among the candidates came to the convention without the united support of his own state. Chase never ceased to underestimate Lincoln, nor to resent the fact that he had lost the presidency to a man he considered his inferior. His frustration with his position as secretary of the treasury was alleviated only by his his dogged hope that he, rather than Lincoln, would be the Republican nominee in 1864, and he steadfastly worked to that end. The president put up with Chase's machinations and haughty yet fundamentally insecure nature because he recognized his superlative accomplishments at treasury. Eventually, however, Chase threatened to split the Republican Party by continuing to fill key positions with partisans who supported his presidential hopes. When Lincoln stepped in, Chase tendered his resignation as he had three times before, but this time Lincoln stunned Chase by calling his bluff and accepting the offer.
3. Abraham Lincoln
When Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860 he seemed to have come from nowhere--a backwoods lawyer who had served one undistinguished term in the House of Representatives and lost two consecutive contests for the U.S. Senate. Contemporaries attributed his surprising nomination to chance, to his moderate position on slavery, and to the fact that he hailed from the battleground state of Illinois. But Lincoln's triumph, particularly when viewed against the efforts of his rivals, owed much to a remarkable, unsuspected political acuity and an emotional strength forged in the crucible of hardship and defeat. That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of an uncanny self-confidence and an indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness.
4. William H. Seward
A celebrated senator from New York for more than a decade and governor of his state for two terms before going to Washington, Seward was certain he was going to receive his party's nomination for president in 1860. The weekend before the convention in Chicago opened he had already composed a first draft of the valedictory speech he expected to make to the Senate, assuming that he would resign his position as soon as the decision in Chicago was made. His mortification at not having received the nomination never fully abated, and when he was offered his cabinet post as secretary of state he intended to have a major role in choosing the remaining cabinet members, conferring upon himself a position in the new government more commanding than that of Lincoln himself. He quickly realized the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. Though the feisty New Yorker would continue to debate numerous issues with Lincoln in the years ahead, exactly as Lincoln had hoped and needed him to do, Seward would become his closest friend, advisor, and ally in the administration. More than any other cabinet member Seward appreciated Lincoln's peerless skill in balancing factions both within his administration and in the country at large.
5. Edward Bates
A widely respected elder statesman, a delegate to the convention that framed the Missouri Constitution, and a former Missouri congressman whose opinions on national matters were still widely sought, Bates's ambitions for political success were gradually displaced by love for his wife and large family, and he withdrew from public life in the late 1840s. For the next 20 years he was asked repeatedly to run or once again accept high government posts but he consistently declined. However in early 1860, with letters and newspaper editorials advocating his candidacy crowding in upon him, he decided to try for the highest office in the land. After losing to Lincoln he vowed, in his diary, to decline a cabinet position if one were to be offered, but with the country "in trouble and danger" he felt it was his duty to accept when Lincoln asked him to be attorney general. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, "very near being a 'perfect man.'"

The Essential Doris Kearns Goodwin

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

More New Reading on the Civil War

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk
Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War by Charles Bracelen Flood
The March: A Novel by E.L. Doctorow

Book Description

This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2007-10-15

Excellnt book. I just wish that the author had continued on after Lincoln's death to discuss post-war reconstruction. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating look at Lincoln and his cabinet.

TEAM OF RIVALS.......2007-10-13

TEAM OF RIVALS IS AN EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION OF LINCOLN'S CABINET WHICH WAS CURIOUSLY MADE OF FOUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND THREE PARTISAN MEMBERS. DORIS KEARNS GODWIN, WELL KNOWN HISTORIAN, DESCRIBES THEIR BACKGROUNDS AND THEIR POLITICAL DIFFERENCES WHICH INVITES THE READER INTO THEIR CHARACTERS, POLICIES AND BACKGROUNDS. IT IS A NEW VIEW OF LINCOLN, AS WELL AS, HIS CABINET. IT IS SO INTERESTING THAT ALTHOUGH LONG, YOU WON'T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN.

team of rivals.......2007-10-05

great look at the inner workings of the executive branch This cabinet was hardly a "team". In comparison to the way cabinets members are selelected in our era of political, Lincoln showed incredible political courage to select this group.

Firsst Rate.......2007-09-25

Well written, captivating. Brings to life Lincoln's great intellect and personality. Facinating detailed character development of Lincoln's rivals and his attempts to heal and unify.

When Minor Characters Get Leading Roles.......2007-09-18

The Civil War is America's great epic story and Abraham Lincoln is our great national hero. It is a beautiful story almost perfect in its every detail. Consequently, it has been told many times in the one hundred and forty two years since its conclusion. Doris Kearns Goodwin needed to find a new angle in order to write her Lincoln biography. Her take was to write a group of biography of Lincoln and the men who formed his War Cabinet.

For her approach to work, relatively minor characters must be elevated to leading roles. The Civil War is such a compelling story with so many memorable characters. While reading this book, I had to wonder why Kearns Goodwin devoted so many pages to Edward Bates' early legal career or Kate Chase's social life. The pages she devotes to them, takes away from more important characters and events.

This is a very long book and it takes some measure of fortitude to finish it. Although, I had to wonder about Kearns Goodwin's focus on these relatively minor characters, I stuck with the book because she is such a strong writer. You would have to be a very hard person not to tear up while reading her description of Lincoln's last day. In the final analysis, Doris Kearns Goodwin is up to the task of re-telling our great national story. Recommended.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers

Average customer rating:

Quick read, excellent content
You should own it if you plan giving speeches
Delivers
speaking like churchill
worthwhile reading

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers
James C. Humes
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Public Speaking | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0761563512
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Book Description

Turn Any Presentation into a Landmark Occasion
Ever wish you could captivate your boardroom with the opening line of your presentation, like Winston Churchill in his most memorable speeches? Or want to command attention by looming larger than life before your audience, much like Abraham Lincoln when, standing erect and wearing a top hat, he towered over seven feet? Now, you can master presentation skills, wow your audience, and shoot up the corporate ladder by unlocking the secrets of history's greatest speakers.

Author, historian, and world-renowned speaker James C. Humes—who wrote speeches for five American presidents—shows you how great leaders through the ages used simple yet incredibly effective tricks to speak, persuade, and win throngs of fans and followers. Inside, you'll discover how Napoleon Bonaparte mastered the use of the pregnant pause to grab attention, how Lady Margaret Thatcher punctuated her most serious speeches with the use of subtle props, how Ronald Reagan could win even the most hostile crowd with carefully timed wit, and much, much more.

Whether you're addressing a small nation or a large staff meeting, you'll want to master the tips and tricks in Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln.
"As a student of speech, I very much enjoyed this intriguing historic approach to public speaking. Humes creates a valuable and practical guide."
— Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO, FOX News

"I love this book. I've followed Humes's lessons for years, and he combines them all into one compact, hard-hitting resource. Get this book on your desk now."
— Chris Matthews, Hardball

Customer Reviews:

Quick read, excellent content.......2007-08-23

I would title this book, "The language of leadership". It's content is excellent and well organized. It teaches ways to speak and act like a leader and therefore command such authority through the power of the spoken word.

The chapter titles all begin with "Power", but the author practices what he preaches by getting across the information in a well organized and easy to get through manner. If you look at the highlights in each chapter and skim through, you get the jist of information, hence making it easy to comprehend in a day.

Every chapter has its content and then real life examples from the author's experience. The examples are both historic and contemporary, very useful, convincing & often interesting, although ocassionally unecessary to get the message accross.

The criticisms I've seen of this book are that it is patronizing or too long winded or redundant. I don't find any of these things to be true. I however admit, that instead of reading the book cover to cover and sentence by sentence, I read it as any executive would read a proposal or document - skim to get the highlights and then go back in for more detailed reference when needed. I got a great deal out of the book this way.

I purchased the book for a Dean of a Business school and a high power executive. While skimming through it, I found myself quite absorbed. Since then, I've found myself continually thinking back to what I read there and I ended up buying myself a copy for reference and one as a gift for the CEO of my company as well.

Makes a great gift for a Type A executive or anyone in a position of leadership of any kind. This isn't just a public speaking book, and it's not about overcoming shyness or a "Toastmasters" type thing. It's about how to make what you say be powerful and effective.

You should own it if you plan giving speeches.......2007-02-14

Well written with great examples. Not your typical textbook, which makes for a refreshing approach to leadership classes.

Delivers.......2006-07-13

Unbelievable that no one taught me these principles years ago. This guy has been around a long time! Excellent, easy to read and incorporate.

speaking like churchill.......2006-07-03

This is an excellent book for speakers os any level who wish to make small yet noticeable improvements to their speaking performance. Churchill and Lincoln both mastered the skills necessary to be great speakers. The greatest secret that I took from this book is the power of the ..... PAUSE. To stand in front of a group of people saying nothing , with poise and confidence , is a skill the truly seperates great speakers from the rest.
I would recommend this book without hesitation.

worthwhile reading.......2006-04-02

Good book. Nevertheless the author could make it better by cutting off some of the quotes that here and there become excessive in number and extension. This is particularly true for the chapters "power wit", "power poetry" and "power line". They are tiresome -- even boring -- when prolonged beyond the necessary. This only proves that you can have too much a good thing. When it happens good becomes less good and enticing becomes exhausting.
If you think your readers - and especially your audience - should be protected against fatuous speeches, empty words and their monotonous delivery, read this book and keep a copy at hand.

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.)

Average customer rating:

Fact or Fiction?
a great read... i was there!!
Brings history to life...
What a book...
Well written, a quick read.

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.)
James L. Swanson
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060518502
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

The Greatest Manhunt in American History

For 12 days after his brazen assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was at large, and in Manhunt, historian James L. Swanson tells the vivid, fully documented tale of his escape and the wild, massive pursuit. Get a taste of the daily drama from this timeline of the desperate search.

April 14, 1865 Around noon, Booth learns that Lincoln is coming to Ford's Theatre that night. He has eight hours to prepare his plan.
10:15 pm: Booth shoots the president, leaps to the stage, and escapes on a waiting horse.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders the manhunt to begin.

April 15 About 4:00 am: Booth seeks treatment for a broken leg at Dr. Samuel Mudd's farm near Beantown, Maryland. Cavalry patrol heads south toward Mudd farm.
Confederate operative Thomas Jones hides Booth in a remote pine thicket for five days, frustrating the manhunters.

April 19 Tens of thousands watch the procession to the U.S. Capitol, where President Lincoln lies in state. Wild rumors and stories of false sightings of Booth spread.

April 20 Stanton offers a $100,000 reward for the assassins, and threatens death to any citizen who helps them.
After hiding Booth in Maryland, Jones puts him in a rowboat on the Potomac River, bound for Virginia. More than a thousand manhunters are still searching in Maryland. In the dark, Booth rows the wrong way and first ends up back in Maryland.

April 20-24 Booth lands in the northern neck of Virginia, and Confederate agents and sympathizers guide him to Port Conway, Virginia.

April 24 Booth befriends three Confederate soldiers who help him cross the Rappahannock River to Port Royal and then guide him further southwest to the Garrett farm.
Union troops in Washington receive a report of a Booth sighting. They board a U.S. Navy tug and steam south, right past Booth's hideout at the Garrett farm.

April 25 The 16th New York Calvary, realizing their error, turns around and surrounds the Garrett farm after midnight that night.

April 26 When Booth refuses to surrender, troops set the barn on fire, and Boston Corbett shoots the assassin. Booth dies a few hours later, at sunrise.

April 26-27 Booth's body is brought back to Washington, where it is autopsied, photographed, and buried in a secret grave.

Book Description

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, led Union cavalry and detectives on a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia, while the nation, still reeling from the just-ended Civil War, watched in horror and sadness.

James L. Swanson's Manhunt is a fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.

Customer Reviews:

Fact or Fiction?.......2007-10-16

Based on the hundreds of glowing reviews on this website, I appear to be in a tiny minority regarding my opinion. Please read this review as a counterpoint to some of MANHUNT's praise.

MANHUNT has its merits. I'll point you to many other well-written reviews for evidence. Here's my beef: The author seems to mix fact with imaginative embellishment (read: fiction) for hightened drama. When setting most scenes, Mr. Swanson describes particular sensory conditions with great specificity like smells, lighting conditions, facial expressions, and most impresively, Booth's emotions.

My question is this: Where would he get this information from such a wide range of sources 140 years later? Eyewitness reports? I doubt it, especially when it comes to "enhancements" of Booth's motivations, emotions, and thought processes. (The man was killed before he had time to jot down a memoir...) Therefore, very large portions of this text must have come out of the author's imagination.

All this does "spice up" what's turned into a plausable historical tale. But what's real? What's not? It's impossible to know. Not that I would only endorse dry historic chronicles. This story would be intriguing and exciting enough without the author's efforts to "take it up a notch".

I couldn't take it seriously, and therefore couldn't finish it. Grade: D.

a great read... i was there!!.......2007-09-29

I have not read many books lately and have just started to get back to it. Manhunt was the latest book I read and it was AMAZING!! The vivid descriptions put you everywhere John W Booth and his cohorts are and makes for a fascinating depiction of history.

Brings history to life..........2007-09-14

I enjoy nonfiction books that read like novels, and James L. Swanson's Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer provides a dose of history in an enjoyable format.

Manhunt didn't include much information about the assassination that I didn't already know. But I did learn quite a bit about the 12-day pursuit of John Wilkes Booth and the hunt for his conspirators, as well as some other assassination trivia. It was especially interesting in that my husband and I often travel this same path through Maryland and Virginia when driving south. We pass right by the historic marker near the Garrett house barn (where Booth was captured and killed), although we've never stopped to see the actual location.

Swanson does a commendable job of bringing the complex Booth to life. The author describes him as "impossibly vain, preening, emotionally flamboyant, possessed of raw talent and splendid elan." Yet, this handsome and charismatic actor was willing to sacrifice everything for "his cause." After the assassination, he was stunned and enraged to discover that his acts not only met with outrage, but also, made Lincoln a martyr. I was surprised to learn that on April 16, 1865, CSA Lt. General R. S. Ewell sent Secretary of War Stanton a letter that was cosigned by 16 other Confederate generals. In the letter, Ewell wrote of their "unqualified abhorrence and indignation" at Lincoln's killing. He claimed that they were shocked by this appalling crime and that Southern men "are not assassins" nor their "allies."

Manhunt has a good number of pictures, drawings, maps and photographs related to the assassination. He also includes an excellent Epilogue where he tells the "story after the story." Swanson also provides a poignant description of the events of that time. When Lincoln died at the Peterson house, a "crude, improvised coffin" was brought to transport his body back to the White House. The people in the street were upset. "The box looked like a shipping crate, not a proper coffin for a head of state. Lincoln would not have minded. He was always a man of simple tastes. This was the plain, roughly hewn coffin of a rail-splitter."

After reading Manhunt, I intend on reading an earlier work that Swanson co-wrote called Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trail and Execution.

What a book..........2007-09-04

I bought this book for a teachers gift, he loves Lincoln and that whole period of our country's life. He said the book is one of the best he's ever read on the subject.

Well written, a quick read........2007-09-03

As a person who's read quite a bit on Lincoln and his assination, I figured I should finally get around to this text. I've been telling people for years that Dr. Samuel Mudd's family lobbied for years to get Mudd's name cleared--that he was simply a physician treating a patient with a broken leg. A colleague of mine suggested that this book denies that. It does, indeed.

I read a lot but am a slower reader than I'd like. So I like a book (1) that doesn't have microscopic print and (2) keeps me interested. This qualified on both counts. I don't mean it was large print, like a children's book. But it didn't have so much detail that I could maybe win a trivia contest but be none the wiser.

In fact, one item that I liked most was that Thomas Jones apparently kept Booth and his accomplice, Davey Herold, in a pine thicket for something like four days and five nights. Jones was freed of any responsibility for harboring perhaps the most wanted man in the US for those 12 days, but told the truth some years later. (When he was selling a book admitting to that, he was apparently attacked by some Union veterans!)

Among the things I liked too about the book was the admission by the author that Lincoln was not particularly popular at the time of his assination. Indeed, Booth was discouraged after the assasination that he'd created a martyr there there might not have been one.

Another thing I liked about the structure of the book is that the author ended with a kind of "where are they now," or what happened to the actors in the "drama." That's where I learned of the Jones story, for example.

What I didn't like about the book was the speculation the author did on what was going on in Booth's mind while he was in the Garret barn where he was eventually shot. I'm conscious of that ever since a good friend and former boss and I talked about a book years ago in which he accused I think it was Halberstram of doing that. "How could he know was was going on in [so-and-so]'s mind?" he asked. Of course he can guess, but then such speculation needed to be stated as such.

I must confess too that I almost downgraded the review by one star too because of what I saw in the book's acknowledgements. You see, Swanson thanked is friends "at the Heritage Foundation." What's the matter with that? Well, Heritage is extremely ideological. (I know, for, among other reasons, I have a distant cousin who works there.) How would one have felt after reading such a book if the author had said, "Many thanks to all my buddies at the Communist Party." It might make you want to find another more credible book because that party tends to be ideological. Heritage may be the other side of the political spectrum but is no less ideological, so it made me wonder about the author's motives and objectivity. But, despite Heritage, I found the book worth reading and, yes, difficult to put down. So, over and above the Booth speculation, I recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Excellent Read!
Great action book!
Well paced pageturner, but disappointing overall.
Earthcore is Earthcrack for the mind!
whats wrong with everyone?

Earthcore
Scott Sigler
Manufacturer: Dragon Moon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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Raising The Past
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ASIN: 1896944329
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Product Description

Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Read!.......2007-09-19

Very nice book. The author did everything correct for my reading style. Packed with action and techno details. I am currently reading another Sigler book and it appears to be just as good.

Great action book!.......2007-08-10

If you want to read a great action & adventure, this is it. Scott Sigler writes a great story like James Rollins.

Well paced pageturner, but disappointing overall........2007-08-06

I picked the book up based on the reviews I read here, hoping to find a nice exciting SF read with an interesting story, some inventiveness and good technology. Instead, I found a fast paced but clumsy and unsatisfying monster story with an ever-diminishing level of attention paid to believability and an ultimately disappointing ending.

In short, the story is about the discovery of a huge and impossibly pure lode of platinum, buried very deep inside a non-descript mountain range in the Utah desert, and the efforts by a team assembled by a major mining corporation to reach and mine the platinum. Along the way, we meet the driven corporate guy, haunted by the death of his wife, the honorable mercenaries, the desert rat, the world-renowned archaeologist and her mentor, the impossibly gorgeous sociopathic ex-spy, the socially stunted super-genius that can repair the Space Shuttle with chewing gum and a toothpick, and other cookie-cutter characters. They discover "evil" deep inside the mountain, and I won't continue beyond that to avoid writing spoilers.

I found the book to move well and read easily, but can't say much beyond that. The characters felt like they were dreamed up in the adventure fantasies of teenage boys - everyone's "the best in the world" at what they do, one-dimensional except for a couple clumsy attempts at back stories - their interactions play out poorly - all in all, rather ham-fisted.

The technology at first was moderately interesting and inventive, but as the book progressed, the believability was disposed of in favor of writing long action sequences. The author also didn't seem to know how to finish the story, and I found the ending very unsatisfying. The pacing of the plot is good enough to keep me involved to the end, rather than just shutting it down and moving on, but I wouldn't recommend it overall.

Earthcore is Earthcrack for the mind!.......2007-07-18

Having been drawn in by the Podcast, I knew that I had to own the book.

Even though I had already heard the story, reading this was like reading a brand new book for the first time. Scott Sigler is the master of suspense and the world for that matter! He leaves you pining for more. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

whats wrong with everyone?.......2007-07-14

I read the reviews about this and got very excited. I got the book in the mail and dove into it. 95% of the reviews I read gave it a 5 out of 5. Theres no way it could be bad right?? WRONG!

I understand creating character development, I would rather have it than not. But for one thing if your gonna write a book about monsters don't wait 150 pages before you bring them into the picture. Second, when the monsters showed up. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? They were so laughably stupid had I not paid 10 bucks to read this book and went through 150 pages I would have laughed hysterically. Their medicine balls with tenticles and they cary knives! WHAT!?!?!!?!?! I stopped after that. No reason to go any further. This book was horrible.

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times

Average customer rating:

Lincoln is still a leader.
Leadership During ALL Times
Great viewpoint on focusing on people
Lessons on Leadership
Excellent and well-worth reading.

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times
Donald T. Phillips
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Lincoln is still a leader........2007-10-01

I selected "Lincoln on Leadership" as a biography to use in a graduate educational administration course and I couldn't have chosen a better book. The organization of the book highlighted leadership qualities that Lincoln exemplified and each chapter had a succinct summary of those leadership skills. Lincoln's leadership is applicable to all types of leadership including education.

Leadership During ALL Times.......2007-04-28

Donald T. Phillips used our sixteenth president's wisdom under fire to provide an excellent primer for leadership focused on tough times, but it is as important during good times. When sales are at record levels, employees are happily working long hours, and new prospects are pounding on the doors because of customers' recommendations, is when one needs to be preparing for potential tough times.

Few will go through the meat-grinder which faced President Lincoln, but able leadership during good times will give an organization a firm footing for the mishaps and misfortunes which will affect us all at some point. Focusing on the 'Endeavor' section of the book, Phillips illustrates examples of Lincoln's will, ability, and lack of hesitation in making tough, necessary decisions. Losing a war, being sniped at by those who should be supporters, and struggling with difficult family matters can be paralyzing, but ignoring a personnel issue so as to not rock the boat during a smooth voyage can also be destructive. Phillips points out how "Lincoln often accepted the aggravation and exasperation caused by subordinates if they did their jobs competently", but he also shows how Lincoln could be decisive and tough when his hand was forced. This includes disciplining and firing upper level staff such as cabinet secretaries and commanding generals.

Any review of Lincoln's life would be incomplete without mentioning his use of humor and a unique storytelling ability to make his point. Phillips recounts Lincoln's reason for doing so, which includes these lines: "I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others or a laborious explanation on my own part by a short story that illustrates my point of view." "No, I am not simply a story-teller, but story-telling as an emollient saves me much friction and distress." Oh, if only more of our business and government leaders would use short stories, saving us all some "friction and distress".

The chapter titled "Persuade Rather Than Coerce" explains that Lincoln was smart enough to know that he couldn't do it all by himself, but needed capable leaders who were authorized to make decisions and act on them. His largest problem with military leadership was a gauntlet of generals who were not willing to assume that responsibility. Understanding that influence is a more effective tool of leadership than coercion or orders, he "...preferred to let his generals make their own decisions and hoped that, through his suggestions, they would do the right thing."

That chapter begins with a quote from the first Lincoln Douglas debate: With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. Consequently he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. Looking back at the presidents of my lifetime, it is easy to see which have taken this advice to heart, and have shown success because of it. Likewise, those who have ignored it, and a recent president comes to mind, have had their leadership suffer.

Paraphrasing John C. Maxwell, there is no such thing as `leadership during tough times'; there is only `leadership'. Those fond of history and anyone interested in leadership should read this book.

Great viewpoint on focusing on people.......2007-04-23

This book is one of the best management/leadership books I have ever read. It was giving to me by one of my business school professors who I respect and admire greatly. The book will not disappoint you if you decide to buy it. Worth the time and money!

Lessons on Leadership.......2007-03-31

This is a great book for individuals entering the business world to read how leadership and ethics can and should lead to excellent decision-making skills.

Excellent and well-worth reading........2007-03-31

This book is well written and will appeal to a very wide range of readers, including but not limited to Lincoln scholars and those interested in leadership. Readers who are interested in history, business, politics and those who just like well-written prose should enjoy this book. As the title states, this book is about Lincoln's leadership style. He is portrayed as a paradigm of an effective leader. The book covers topics such as: his interactions with people, his character, his decisiveness, and his immense skills as a communicator. Each chapter covers a different facet of leadership and how Lincoln typified this feature. At the end of each chapter there is brief discussion of how this applies to current day business and politics. There is also a brief summary list of Lincoln's principles discussed in that chapter. The book itself is brief and you can learn a lot from the way that Lincoln interacted with and led people during the most trying time in America's history.

While the focus of the book is on Lincoln's leadership, I learned quite a bit about the man and the challenges that he faced and how he shaped the subsequent government of the US. This was done in a very interesting manner, which was devoid of the dense details of a history book. I got more from this brief book than from some much more detailed books on the Civil War. The book is replete with Lincoln anecdotes, jokes and parables, all of which enrich the text and get the points across in much the same way Lincoln initially used them to get his points across. The best accolade that I can give this book as that it is making me read more about Lincoln and about leadership.

Average customer rating:

Unlistenable
So Good I Had To Wait to Read It!
More than a museum thriller!
Starts out strong, fizzles at the end
Best thriller / Detective novels in the past 20 years

The Book of the Dead
Douglas Preston , and Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Cabinet of Curiosities

ASIN: 0446576980
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Book Description

A brilliant FBI agent, rotting away in a high security prison for a murder he did not commit.His brilliant, psychotic brother, about to perpetrate a horrific crime.A young woman with an extraordinary past, on the edge of a violent breakdown.An ancient Egyptian tomb about to be unveiled at a celebrity-studded New York gala, an enigmatic curse released.Memento Mori

Customer Reviews:

Unlistenable.......2007-10-12

I got the 12-CD edition from my library, and found the reading by Scott Brick so awful I quit before the end of the first disk. From what I heard of it, the story is good and deserves better treatment than it get.

So Good I Had To Wait to Read It!.......2007-10-06

I Love the AgentPendergast Stories So much that after "Brimstone" I couldn't bear to read the "Diogenes Trilogy" until it was completed!
WOW!!! These guys NEVER MISS!!
Now I just have to read the Lincoln Child spook stories!
Bliss!

More than a museum thriller!.......2007-10-03

Another action filled adventure with the strange but compelling Agent Pendergast at the center of it all. The authors keep your attention rivited as the characters weave in and out of the main story line. The descriptive narrative keeps you looking over the shoulder of each person while you hold your breath at the suspense when the evil Diogenes is at his worst and you are waiting for the brilliant Aloysius to save Constance. Loved having D'Agosta back in the middle of it all!

Starts out strong, fizzles at the end.......2007-09-27

As David Spade would say, I like this book better the first time I read it, when it was called "Relic." Preston and Child can turn out potboilers, guilty pleasures that aren't literary masterpieces but make with the page-turning fun, but they also aren't without their flaws. Too often, they drop arcana into a situation that doesn't call for it (anybody can Google up a ton of trivia on any subject, and besides, you shouldn't try to impress your reader by your mastery of obscure facts). Agent Pendergast is again perfect in every way. Need a safe cracked? He knows the metallurgy necessary to pick the weak point in the lock. Not to give away a plot point, but in this book he McGuyvers up one particularly necessary element in a manner that's just too convenient.

And convenience is the downfall of this book, and of most P&C books. What could be a situation fraught with drama is instead defused by Pendergast's godlike abilities, including the ludicrous "memory crossing" technique that is P&C's way of conveniently explaining away anything they don't know how to write into their books.

Chop off a few chapters, give Pendergast at least one or two flaws, and drop the attempts to dazzle the reader with trivia, and this would be a five-star summer read. As it is, it's just laughable and tedious.

Best thriller / Detective novels in the past 20 years.......2007-09-26

New to the Preston/Child series of novels, I started with Brimstone, then Dance of Death and then the finale, Book of the Dead. The "Diogenes" trilogy.

Extremely well written, and eloquently poised, the imagery and characterizations blend to create the perfect thriller. Preston and Child contribute the perfect combination of talent, to be indistinguishable as more than one author.

Agent Pendergast and the collaborating cast of characters are so real, so carefully created, that they bring to life the story, and draw you into the reality of the novels. The obviously well documented, and researched background information gives a vivid backdrop to the plot and your imagination builds the elaborate scenes for every location.

I will be buying more of the authors' past books and will be eagerly anticipating more of the Pendergast saga as it unfolds.

HIGHLY recommended reading, you won't be disappointed. A thinking man's thriller.

Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography

Average customer rating:

Gienapp Let-Down
magnificent!
My Captain!
Abraham Lincoln And Civil War America
Abraham Lincoln in one slim volume.

Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
William E. Gienapp
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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This Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln

ASIN: 0195151003

Book Description

While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln's early life, from pioneer farm boy, to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. We see how Lincoln grew during his years in office, how he developed a keen aptitude for military strategy and displayed enormous skill in dealing with his generals, and also how his strategy evolved from a desire to preserve the Union into one of emancipation and total war. A former backwoodsman and country lawyer, Abraham Lincoln rose to become one of America's greatest presidents. The biography offers a vivid account of Lincoln's dramatic ascension to the pinnacle of American history.

Customer Reviews:

Gienapp Let-Down.......2006-11-08

Bill Gienapp was a brilliant historian, and his work "The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856" is a pillar of American political history. Unfortunately, his final work, "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America," is a tremendous let-down. It is perhaps one of the worst examinations of Lincoln's life, and has almost nothing to do with "Civil War America." Essentially, it is an unqualified love poem to Lincoln, and strives only to prove his greatness -- there is no critical analysis at all. Lincoln is given credit for every political and military success 1861-1865 and is absolved from blame for all his mistakes. In reality, Lincoln was a complex personality and his public career was much more tumultuous than Gienapp proposes. It is disappointing that Gienapp, a man who dedicated his life to exhaustive, nearly flawless historical research would resort to such frivolous, uncritical "pop history" at the end of his tragically short life. Skip Gienapp's Lincoln and, instead, read Stephen Oates's "With Malice Toward None" or Don Fehrenbacher's "Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s."

magnificent!.......2006-06-27

A short, but very well biography of Lincoln. It counts only 250 pages, but it gives an excellent overwiew and superb analyse of the life of AL. The bibliography is also very interesting. One of the best books about the 16th president. A must for a Lincolnhistorian.

My Captain!.......2005-04-04

A good short, solid political biography. While Lincoln and the Civil War is its focus, by no means is this a battle history: Gettysburg is described in one paragraph.

Professor Gienapp has written a book that will introduce one to, or remind one of, the long and trying path traveled by Abraham Lincoln toward ultimate greatness.

Abraham Lincoln And Civil War America.......2002-03-23

William Gienapp's Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America answers a longstanding need for a biography of Lincoln manageable in size, accessible in style, and wise and balanced in content. Lincoln appers on every page of the book and is never lost sight of in the welter of events. He emerges from the text a real believable person, an individual and persuasive assessment of Lincoln's leadership abilities, the finest such appraisal avilable anywhere.

Abraham Lincoln in one slim volume........2002-03-10

This book is a welcome addition ot the already crowded Lincolnia bookself. The author is the presumed successor to the retired David Herbert Donald at Harvard University. Gienapp has produced a highly readable and concise version of a Lincoln biography that can be completed on a moderately long airplane trip(and it's quite portable unlike most hardcover books). While relatively short,this book is a sufficiently thorough treatment of the Civil War Lincoln. I especially enjoyed the author's analysis of the politician Lincoln who mastered his rivals, both Republican and Democrat. This a good book for either a new Lincoln /Civil War "buff" or a good refresher for a scholar of the times.

Holy Blood, Holy Grail Illustrated Edition: The Secret History of Jesus, the Shocking Legacy of the Grail

Average customer rating:

Fun Read but...
This IS the original
Denial cannot change fact.....
It's interesting....These doubters.
Holy Moses

Holy Blood, Holy Grail Illustrated Edition: The Secret History of Jesus, the Shocking Legacy of the Grail
Michael Baigent , Richard Leigh , and Henry Lincoln
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail

ASIN: 038534001X
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Amazon.com

Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, authors of The Messianic Legacy, spent over 10 years on their own kind of quest for the Holy Grail, into the secretive history of early France. What they found, researched with the tenacity and attention to detail that befits any great quest, is a tangled and intricate story of politics and faith that reads like a mystery novel. It is the story of the Knights Templar, and a behind-the-scenes society called the Prieure de Sion, and its involvement in reinstating descendants of the Merovingian bloodline into political power. Why? The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their explorations into early history ultimately reveal that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to marry and father children whose bloodline continues today. The authors' point here is not to compromise or to demean Jesus, but to offer another, more complete perspective of Jesus as God's incarnation in man. The power of this secret, which has been carefully guarded for hundreds of years, has sparked much controversy. For all the sensationalism and hoopla surrounding Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the alternate history that it outlines, the authors are careful to keep their perspective and sense of skepticism alive in its pages, explaining carefully and clearly how they came to draw such combustible conclusions. --Jodie Buller

Book Description

SPECIAL ILLUSTRATED EDITION WITH EXCLUSIVE NEW MATERIAL

“One of the more controversial books of the 20th century.” –UPI

“Enough to seriously challenge many traditional beliefs, if not alter them.” –Los Angeles Book Times Review

Explosive, thought-provoking, fiercely compelling, Holy Blood, Holy Grail breaks bold new ground with its shocking conclusions about the lineage of Christ and the legacy of the Holy Grail. Now this lavishly illustrated
collector’s edition features exclusive new material plus dozens of full-color photographs, drawings, symbols, architecture, and artwork, making it a dazzling feast for the eyes as well as the mind. Based on decades
of research, filled with eye-opening new
evidence and stunning scholarship, this authoritative work uncovers an alternate history as shocking as it is believable–as it dares to ask:

Is the traditional, accepted view of the life of Christ in some way incomplete?

Is it possible Christ did not die on the
cross?

Is it possible Jesus was married, a father,
and that his bloodline still exists?

Is it possible that parchments found in the
South of France a century ago reveal one
of the best-kept secrets in Christendom?

Is it possible that these parchments contain
the very heart of the mystery of the Holy
Grail?

According to the authors of this extraordinarily provocative, meticulously researched book, not only are these things possible–they are probably true. So revolutionary, so original, so convincing, the most faithful Christians will be moved; here is the book that has sparked worldwide controversy, now newly updated and beautifully illustrated for the collector’s shelf.

“Like Chariots of the Gods...The plot has all the elements of an international thriller.” –Newsweek

“Compelling.” –Philadelphia Inquirer

“An astonishing hypothesis.”
–Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

Fun Read but..........2007-10-12

History is interesting and exciting. We never know what to believe. That is why faith destroys us. faith in the blind. Jesus was an inspiring philosopher. no more. Who cares if he was married or had kids??? He was a man!!! and dont be an idiot thinking god had anything to do with mary becoming pregnant. common sense. if you believe that..might as well think david copperfield is the son of god. dont take my review that seriously. just planting seeds...and yes..off the book a tad! hahaha

This IS the original.......2007-09-23

This is where it all started for me... 10 years and over 140 books later this book is still the best and the one i refer back to as the information contained is excellent.

What a story, whether true, false, fiction or non, it grips you from page 1 to the very end in a mystery that is so compelling and has such wide reaching implications you simply can not put it down.

I only wish the 3 authors had produced more work together.

Gary May

Denial cannot change fact............2007-09-03

.

....nor can frequent repetition create it.

There are some interesting facts presented here, and some even more interesting conclusions drawn from those facts.

And thus the fight begins.

Some of the most intriguing facts are those surrounding Rosslyn Chapel. Inside there are carvings of plants that were not "discovered" by Europeans until two-hundred years AFTER their carving.

This is great book on the Templars and one theory of their demise.

Or is it fact????

It's interesting....These doubters........2007-07-31

Alot of you are doing exactly what they said the critics have done, You can argue all you want about Prior and etc, But they will agree with me that the most important topic here is the gospels pertaining to Jesus, you must remember that they think the most interesting thing here is that there is a civilization of people who believe in Jesus because of what they have been told to believe by force or condition to believe since childhood(like me, being a preachers kid) But they have now questioned not what you believe but on what grounds do you believe. They didnt make up verses, They quoted what was in the bible the King James Version! Think about this! What is the mystery behind the "Two Mary's" is Mary of bethany and the Magdalen the same? well according to the bible THEY ARE! Is there contradictions concerning the resurrection in the gospels? Well according to the gospels THERE IS! Is there something odd about the way Jesus was tried & convicted by Rome's accord? If you read the gospels with a historic eye THERE IS! People pick up the bible and read it along with what they question and you will come out with the same conclusions.

Holy Moses.......2007-07-03

If you are a historian, this is the book for you.
If you do research, this is for you.
If you are doing leisurely reading, this is not for you.
This book requires concentration.

Average customer rating:

Don't read the back of the book...
Great
Fantastic
Action Packed!
"Ice Limit"..the motion picture.

The Ice Limit
Douglas Preston , and Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446610232

Amazon.com

Billionaire Palmer Lloyd is accustomed to getting what he wants--and what he wants for his new museum is the largest meteorite on earth. Unfortunately for Lloyd, it's buried on an inhospitable Chilean island just north of the Ice Limit in the most brutal, unforgiving seas in the world.

Fortunately for Lloyd, he knows people--people like Eli Glinn, the hyper-focused president of Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc.; Glinn's nonconformist, genius of a mathematician, Rachel Amira; and the uncannily able construction engineer, Manuel Garza. Lloyd's also tapped the brilliant but disgraced meteorite hunter, Sam McFarlane, and the exceptional supertanker captain, Sally Britton, whose career was unshipped by intemperance and a reef. Of course, such a team has a hefty price tag:

Lloyd's broad features narrowed. "And that is... "
"One hundred and fifty million dollars. Including chartering the transport vessel. FOB the Lloyd Museum."
Lloyd's face went pale. "My God. One hundred and fifty million... " His chin sank onto his hands. "For a ten-thousand-ton rock. That's... "
"Seven dollars and fifty cents a pound," said Glinn.

EES's plan is to obtain mining rights to the island, secure the allegiance of various Chilean functionaries via blinding sums of money, disguise a state-of- the-art supertanker as a decrepit ore rig, mine the rock, slip it into the ship, and zip back to New York to thunderous notoriety. Unforeseen, however, are a rogue Chilean naval captain, seas to make Sebastian Junger boot, and a blood-red meteorite of undetermined pedigree and a habit of discharging billions of volts of electricity for no apparent reason.

Like Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's earlier collaborations (Relic, Thunderhead, and others), The Ice Limit tools along swiftly, blending nicely drawn characters (excepting, regrettably, the book's true protagonist, the meteorite), a reasonably exciting narrative, and enough graspable science and plausible-seeming theories to bring readers happily up to speed and keep them climax-bound. Not the authors' best effort, certainly, but a fine diversion nonetheless. --Michael Hudson

Book Description

The largest known meteorite has been discovered, entombed in the earth for millions of years on a frigid, desolate island off the southern tip of Chile.At four thousand tons, this treasure seems impossible to move.New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd is determined to have this incredible find for his new museum.Stocking a cargo ship with the finest scientists and engineers, he builds a flawless expedition.But from the first approach to the meteorite, people begin to die.A frightening truth is about to unfold:The men and women of the Rolvaag are not taking this ancient, enigmatic object anywhere.It is taking them.

Download Description

On a desolate island off the southern coast of Chile, an incredible discovery is made: a gigantic meteorite, the largest ever found, entombed in the earth for millions of years. Half a world away, billionaire entrepreneur Palmer Lloyd decides he must have it as the centerpiece of his grandiose new museum. He is willing to pay any price--in dollars and in lives. Getting it back to New York poses a particular challenge: It will be the heaviest object ever moved by humankind. . . .Fueled by Lloyd's money, an audacious expedition takes shape. Disguising a state-of-the-art ship as a rusted freighter, the expedition secretly heads southward with a fail-safe plan to steal the meteorite from Chile. Leading the group is an inscrutable engineer hired by Lloyd, and a world-famous meteorite hunter whose career was shattered by a controversial theory. Soon, along the icy rim of Antarctica, in the grip of a frozen hell, the adventurers are confronted with a terrifying enigma about the origin--and nature--of the meteorite. It is a mystery they must solve--if they are to escape with their very lives. Combining mesmerizing science, unbearable suspense, and great storytelling, Preston and Child once again produce a first-rate thriller that will have readers turning pages as fast they can, toward a shocking conclusion as powerful as the impact of a falling meteorite.

Customer Reviews:

Don't read the back of the book..........2007-07-31

The back side of this paperback pretty much tells you everything that happens plot wise, except what happens in the last couple of chapters. Pretty boneheaded copy writing there. Totally spoiled the enjoyment of this pretty decent adventure novel. Tho, it mostly reads like a prologue for a sequel. (Not that one's been written as far as I know of... )

Great.......2007-05-08

I could easily see this book being turned into a movie-- one that I would probably go see. The storyline is dramatic, the characters motivations well-fleshed out, and the Crichton-esque science believable. Fans of Eli Glinn and Effective Engineering Solutions will appreciate his pivotal role. However, fans of Agent Pendergast-- fyi: he does not appear in this book.

Fantastic.......2007-04-10

Doug Preston & Lincoln Child are fantastic writers.
I own and have read all of their books.
Exceptional mystery and suspense with high tech information thrown in.
I recomend all of their books.

Action Packed!.......2007-04-06

I loved this book! So much action you cannot put it down! Tightly written story. Ely is a favorite character of mine. Read all the Pedergast books these guys write. Excellent stuff. Cannot recommend this enough. Great characters!

"Ice Limit"..the motion picture........2007-03-29

"The Ice Limit" reads much like a movie script..and a solid one at that. I enjoyed the story and the characters..especially Lloyd, Glinn and Britton. One major flaw could be that near the end during the chase scene chapters, Preston and Child fail to include a chapter that includes the foiling of Vallenar's plot from his perspective..this was strange since the chase scene included perspectives from both ships. Aside from this, I found "the Ice Limit" very exciting and fun to read. Deserves a possible consideration for a film adaptation.

Average customer rating:

Highly suspenseful, frightful read
Fabulous read!!!
Reliquary
Better than the first one...
Reliquary

Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2)
Douglas Preston , and Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0812542835

Book Description

Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beat. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare.

Customer Reviews:

Highly suspenseful, frightful read.......2007-10-17

"Reliquary" is the rarest of sequels, superior to "Relic" in every way. Character development is exceptional, and the setting beneath Manhattan is a fascinating undiscovered country full of terror and intrigue. Preston and Child even teach us something in this suspenseful novel about New York's Mole people, and our responsibility to help them. The book is a scary as it is suspenseful, and is a superb effort in every way. Highly recommended.

Fabulous read!!!.......2007-09-14

I've gotten hooked on the Preston/Child colaborations since reading "The Ice Limit".I saw the movie "The Relic" and wasn't too thrilled about reading the book. I knew I needed to read it before I could read "The Reliquary". Hollywood can really trash a good book while translating it to film. In this case-very rare-the sequel blew me away. I've ordered another book to learn more about the underground dwellers in N.Y. city-fascinating! I plan on reading all of their books.

Reliquary.......2007-07-20

Great book! Preston & Child have done it again. I loved Relic and Reliquary is just as thrilling.

Better than the first one..........2007-07-12

OK, I'd seen the movie of Relic a couple of times and enjoyed and was tempted to start reading this series at this novel, but I went back and started at Relic, and I'm glad I did. Relic the novel is substantually different than Relic the movie. (Pendergast is excised from the movie, for example). I enjoyed this book more than the first one. It is much more over the top, bigger, broader and more threatening. Start with Relic, and then read this one.

Reliquary.......2007-07-05

This book is typical of the intensity and mystic writting of Douglas Preston. He has many twist and continues to engage the reader with his story of the unexplainable that he bring to the real world.

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