Jet Set: Memoir of an International Playboy

Average customer rating:

Unflinchingly honest ,Quite entertaining!

Outstanding!...

JET SET........THE SAD SET!

He is basically a gigolo....

Pathetic

Jet Set: Memoir of an International Playboy
Massimo Gargia , Allan Starke , and Allan Starkie
Manufacturer: Barricade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Rich & Famous | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1569801509

Customer Reviews:

Unflinchingly honest ,Quite entertaining!.......2005-01-29

I really enjoyed the author's tale.. Lighten up readers, and yeah, he is "just a gigilo" - he happens to excel at it and is able to describe it well ! Massimo starts the memoir by explaining what the Jet Set is and how it came to be. If for some reason you've lost your sense of humour or have a case of the "oh poor me , They're fabulous and I'm not" blues, then this isn't the book for you. I for one have not the slightest scintilla of jealousy of the lifestyles of the rich and social because the daily activities are a roaring bore from my perspective- Very heavy on the entertaining and social level- it's work to play.
In any case, Massimo has figured his ticket to reaching the inner circle and staying there is simple; capitalize on his strengths: looks, a fairly pleasant demeanor, connections and his sexual aptitude. His crime? He's a man. (Does the average reader think that in all of the traditional May-December romances of the 'Jet Set' that the female isn't thinking about how to parlay her youth and appeal into some tangible assets?.C'mon- this writer tells it like it is.)
Massimo does just that, although until he gets his bearings he is more of a pawn in the hands of the dowagers he has makes deals with. The Garbo chapters are a hoot- What a fabulous portrait of a character that kept herself shielded from prying eyes, very few people have been able to write about having any sort of intimacy with this legend. I've always suspected that there wasn't a great mystery underneath it all, and that's one of the truths that this lady kept to herself- quite cunning indeed.
After the training wheels comeoff, Massimo cuts his teeth on a new woman, the eighty-something gazillionaire that seduces him , for a price... The "strings-attached" relationship is chronicled in full detail, I found it fascinating - grateful that the writers have decided to leave out none of the strategy and scheming of either party. The rest of the book's tales are revealing of this particular strata's social order- complex and inconsequential at the same time. Massimo seems surprised when he is spoken of highly at times by observers- In my opinion, he seems like a breath of fresh air amongst those snotty old windbags- I think he gave more that he took.

Outstanding!..........2002-10-11

Excellent book written with honesty. Mr Gargia has the guts to tell what a lot of people in the world are hiding. Besides, all these stories are true which makes the book interesting and entertaining.
Allan Starkie's style is intelligent and very enjoyable as in his previous book "Fergie".

JET SET........THE SAD SET!.......2002-02-28

I am sorry I ever picked up this book and read it.....from the writing to the tale of the male-hooker, Massimo......it's a very sad story. I feel sorry for the people involved that they would even want the world to know that such things happened in their sad and pitiful lives. They ALL need to get a life....instead of living off ALL the others. SAD.

He is basically a gigolo...........2002-02-06

I picked this up at the library on the hope that it would be entertaining. It is for about the first 30 pages and then one starts to wonder - why does this poor man have no self respect? In his early days, the pictures in the book reveal an extremely attractive man and so it is hard to figure out why he basically lets himself become a gigolo to old rich women. There are also a few details I just did NOT want to know... such as him being surprised at enjoying oral stimulation from an 80 year old woman who wore dentures (note - he is about 30 at the time). Yuck! I would be embarassed if I were him but then, he does not seem to embarass easily if it will enrich him. It is also written in a "tabloid" style which gets mindless and repetitive after a while. I guess even Allan Starkie and his "PhD" could not improve the writing.

Pathetic.......2001-10-11

Massimo Gargia has written an account of his life among the Jet Set and what you think might be great fun is instead a pathetic and disgusting reverie of the superficial lives these people live.

After graduation from college, Gargia decided that he didn't want to work a real job so instead he used his looks and charms to worm his way into the jet set society. First up, he seduces the mannish 60 year old Cecile de Rothschild and through her, he meets her elusive friend, Greta Garbo (herself in her 60's). A brief tryst with her follows and he ends up seducing her as well, however, you can read between the lines and realize that Garbo was a woman who was not interested in sex (if anything, the chapter on her illustrates what a strange woman she was and it is evident that she probably could have used the services of a psychiatrist).

After tiring of Garbo's eccentricies and her iciness (she ignores him and is embarrassed while he chokes on a fish bone at a dinner party), he proceeds to his next conquest, a rich widow in her 80's. (Note: A strong stomach is required for the sex scenes - disgusting is no other way to describe them!) This woman (Lydia Deterding) ends up buying Gargia several apartments but their affair becomes the laughing stock of the jet set community. Believe it or not, Gargia does have some modesty and he leaves her for a nympho Countess, whose husband dies soon after they begin their affair. They enjoy the good life for a while until her funds start to get low and she kicks him out after he won't get a job.

By this time, Gargia has lost his looks and he romances a magazine editor and decides to start a magazine called "The Best", based on a frivolous awards event that he created (a big excuse to hold yet another big party bash). After all, can you really take an award seriously whose recipients include LaToya Jackson, Fidel Castro or Ivana Trump???

Gargia wraps up with stories about the Royal Family and how he ingratiated himself into their circle. Some rumors about a possible Princess Diana conspiracy are lightweight, at most. If Gargia's book does serve any worthwhile purpose, it does show how frivolous and wasteful the "Jet Set" live their lives.

Book Description

X-citing. X-traordinary. X-cellent. Whatever adjective can be dreamed up, it cannot compare to the 2003 dream season Dante Hall enjoyed for the Kansas City Chiefs. From an appearance on the The Late Show with David Letterman to etching his name into the NFL record books. Dante "The X-Factor" Hall turned the NFL into his own personal playground and helped the Chiefs get back to the postseason for the first time since 1998. As one of the most heralded running backs ever to hail from the football-crazy state of Texas, Hall enjoyed a great deal of success at Texas A&M before being unceremoniously dropped from the team because of a series of parking tickets that drew as much attention as his exploits on the football field. Kansas City Chiefs president and CEO Carl Peterson had been eyeing the five-foot-eight, 187-pound back, but wanted to check with Aggies coach R. C. Slocum before picking Hall in the 2000 draft. Slocum assured Peterson that Hall was a great young man who had made a mistake, so Hall became a member of the Chiefs. He languished on the sidelines under former head coach Gunther Cunningham, appearing in just five games his rookie season. Things were not much better during his second year in the NFL, but then one of the most important moments in Hall's life took place. The Chiefs hired Dick Vermeil as head coach, and he quickly made Hall his top priority. He envisioned Hall as a great return man, a slot back, a wide receiver, and an occasional running back. Hall quickly became the most talked-about return man in the NFL. He returned two punts and one kickoff for a touchdown and earned a spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. He followed up that campaign with an even more remarkable 2003season. He became the first man in the history of the NFL to have a return for a touchdown in four consecutive games, and a dizzying, razzle-dazzle 92-yard return against Denver was perhaps the most talked-about touchdown of the entire NFL season. When the Chiefs were holding an 8-0 mark at the midway point of the season, many national broadcasters were calling Hall the league's Most Valuable Player. He became a sensation in Kansas City, hosting his own radio show and joining the ranks of Derrick Thomas, Priest Holmes, Len Dawson, and Otis Taylor as one of the most popular players in team history. In Dante Hall: X-Factor, Hall tells in his own words and photos (many from his private scrapbooks) what the ride to the top has been like. Like one of his thrilling returns for a touchdown, it is a journey fans will definitely not want to miss.

Customer Reviews:

This book sucks.......2006-08-12

...just like Dante and the Swiss Cheifs offense. He can't even beat out WRs like Sammie Parker and Eddie Kennison. Kennison couldn't even stay on his other NFL team.

Customer Reviews:

Good start for a first time or newly independant filmmaker.......2000-04-13

In Shaking the Money Tree, Morrie Warshawski has provided an excellent resource for anyone looking to fincance their first film (or second or third for that matter). He has put together a book that is not only a good read but is chock full of information that is actually useful. The lists of resources available to the filmmaker is an good place to start when searching for those elusive dollars needed to either start a project or get one completed (or released from the post facility where it sits awaiting payment of past due bills). His thoughts and suggestions on grant writing are right on the mark. For that reason, I would highy recommend this book not only to those in the film industry, but to anyone preparing to apply for a grant not matter what the field. All in all, a well thought out, well researched, informative work.

Book Description

AIMS AT COVERING ALL ASPECTS OF TEH DAMAI MUSICIANS, THEIR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, THEIR HISTORY AND AN INDEPTH & EXPLICIT STUDY OF THEIR AUSPICIOUS MUSIC OF NEPAL.

Average customer rating:

Useful for a beginner

What a GM screen should be

Meh...At least it is a hard cover.

Werewolf: The Forsaken Storyteller's Screen

Manufacturer: White Wolf Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Role Playing & Fantasy | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Werewolf | Gaming | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Mage The Awakening: Storyteller's Screen (Mage)

Lore of the Forsaken (Werewolf: The Forsaken)

Predators (Werewolf: The Forsaken)

Werewolf: the Forsaken

Werewolf: The Forsaken Dice Set

ASIN: 1588465934

Customer Reviews:

Useful for a beginner.......2006-11-07

I bought this for my wife, as she was going to ST for the first time, and she has found it to be very useful. The information on it is very useful for those who have not memorized the rules yet, altough I have less use for it, as I have a firm grasp of the rules, and I know where to flip in the book to find the relevent passage. I will say, however, that even then it has sped up my own sessions some, if I can't remember, say, the bonus on a transformation or something like that.

What a GM screen should be.......2006-02-23

As far as gamemaster screens go, this is a quality example in two ways:

1) On the inside (facing the Storyteller) are just about all the charts and tables you could want. I'm sure someone will find a table or chart that's missing, but this spread covers the range of what you're likely to use in the average game session--from Lunacy effects to combat to Harmony degeneration to suggestions for Spirit Chiminage to experience costs. Keeps things moving for a Storyteller who has to come up with the answer to something on the spur of the moment.

2) This screen, like the Vampire and Mage screens in the same line, is made from the same stock as the hardcovers. That means it's thicker and sturdier than those flimsy screens we used to use in the old days. This one won't get torn or frayed with casual use. And it easily stands up by itself, too.

Hey, either you use screens when running games or you don't. If you do, then this is money well spent. If nothing else, it'll save you from having to flip through the book or memorize tons of info.

Meh...At least it is a hard cover........2005-09-20

I was pleased to find out it was a hard cover screen. But dismayed to find that only 1 panel was different from the VtR screen.

Customer Reviews:

The Strategy Process.......2005-12-31

The authors of "The Strategy Process..", produced a high quality textbook on strategic planning and management. The authors show the complexity of the subject and the need for managers to exercise caution in using prescriptive systems in the highly dynamic, uncertain and complex operating environment. The book avoids taking a simplistic view to the subject but take a realistic approach of presenting various approaches that managers can use depending on their peculiar circumstances. Having grasped the various concepts, leaders of organisations can then use their judgement to come up with appropriate decisions and actions. The book focuses on developing the ability of managers to make informed judgements based on analysis, synthesis, experience and intuition and harnessing the collective skills and expertise of their organisations.

The book shows how strategy formulation and implementation are intimately intertwined as complex interactive processes in which politics, values and organisational cultures and management styles determine or constrain particular strategic decisions.

Top managers have to make judgements on various unknown and difficult to predict factors and integrate external considerations about technologies, limited resources, competitions, markets, societal attitudes, cultural differences, government regulations and environmental issues. Internally, they have to make judgements on organisational structures, systems, staff, physical resources, existing and potential power bases and bureaucracies.

The chief executive officer has the challenging task of mediating between the various aspects of the internal and external environment and exercises his skills, judicious exercise of power and often make highly qualitative (rather than quantitative) choices from a wide range of possible options.

The book will enable the reader to understand the wide range of issues involved in strategy.

The book has a wide range of cases and articles that give the reader the opportunity to develop and exercise judgements on strategic issues. Although experience is the best teacher, these case studies and articles shorten the training time of managers. The cases cover a wide range of issues and perspectives. The reader can practice their judgement that should develop an awareness of the complex and subtle issues typical in the business world. The cases should highlight the limitations and the reasoning behind various theories and the limitations of standard answers based on conventional wisdom.

The book is recommended reading for those seeking a more in-depth insight into both the theory and practice of strategic management. For students embarking on advanced strategic planning, say at MBA or doctoral level, this is required reading and important reference material.

decent book.......2003-12-11

This book is an ok book. The cases are very interesting and they were the best part of the book. The readings in the first half of the book were random at times and generally not that good. Mintzberg has a great grasp of the concepts, but the book does not do well at conveying them.

Excellent business book.......1999-09-20

This is the kind of book that everyone who wants to be a business administrator should read. It is a compilation of diferents articles most of them from HBR and each unit has some real cases which explain the theme better.

Very good book........1999-03-03

I managed to read it throughly and study most of the cases presented on this book. This book is a very actual source of information to learn and expand existing knowledge. I give 5-stars due to the fact that it is rich in its contents.

The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases : Global

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The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases : Global
Henry Mintzberg , Joseph Lampel , James Brian Quinn , and Sumantra Ghoshal
Manufacturer: Financial Times Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 027365120X

The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, and Cases

Average customer rating:

Vast knowledge in very digestable form
A good book

The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, and Cases
James B. Quinn , Robert M. James , and Henry Mintzberg
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0138508925

Customer Reviews:

Vast knowledge in very digestable form.......2000-08-16

As frightening as the volume of the book might see, it is written very well and it is very contemporary with the topics discussed in.
The book is divided in several sections with general theory and implications disussed first and with some real cases presented afterwards. Each case is usually backed with some questions to think about and to extract the essence of it. The complete book feels like being a student in the class with authors performing as teachers (as they also do sometimes).
Concepts of strategy are extremely tricky. It can hardly been negotiated if there is a strategy or if you just got to have the feeling or if there simply are people who earn 1 million US$+ a year that turn into gold everything they touch and you can't run a serious business without them. This book will help you understand that strategy exists, will teach you how to define it and set it through and how to predict the future and react on it. But as real life is, many things can happen. You get the driver's licence after you learn the basics of driving. But no one can tell after you get the licence if you will get involved into the crash and when.
Many people expect from such books that they will get a broad pavement covered with roses to walk through their careers on simply by paying some 70 US$. How naive they sound sometimes. The pen alone doesn't write a book, it is just an instrument to success, behind which stands an enormous human effort. This wonderful book is only an instrument to avoid some crashes of company in your career. If it can therefore win you a job or a mere 100 US$ raise, it has paid back heavily, don't you think?

A good book.......2000-03-31

This is an important and recent strategy book. I recommend it for MBA students and managers.

The Strategy Process (Concepts, Contexts & Cases)

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The Strategy Process (Concepts, Contexts & Cases)
James Brian Quinn , Henry Mintzberg , and Robert M. James
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OAUBSM

Product Description

There is no "one best way" to create strategy, nor is there "one best form" of organization. Quite different forms work well in particular contexts. We believe that exploring a full variety systematically will create a deeper and more useful appreciation of the strategy process. We have set out to produce a different kind of book in the field of business policy, or, as it is now more popularly called, strategic management. We have tried to provide the reader with a richness of theory, a richness of practice, and a srong basis for linkage between the two. We have rejected the strictly case study approach, which leaves theory out altogether, or soft-pedals it, and thereby denies the accumulated benefits of many years of careful research and thought about management processes. We believe that in this complex world of organizations a range of concepts is needed to cut through and illuminate particular aspects of that complexity. CHAPTERS INCLUDE: STRATEGY-1)The Strategy Concept 2) The Strategist 3) Formulating Strategy 4) Strategy Analysis 5) Strategy Formation 6) ORGANIZATION-Dealing With Structure and Systems 7) Dealing with Power 8) Dealing with Culture 9) CONTEXT-Achieving Configuration 10) The Entrepreneurial Context 11) The Mature Context 12) The Diversified Context 13) The Innovation Context 14) The Professional Context 15) Managing Transition 16) Thinking Strategically

The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases/ 4th Edition/ INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL

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The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases/ 4th Edition/ INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL
HENRY MINTZBERG
Manufacturer: PEARSON EDUCATION
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0131019775

Product Description

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL, 2003 COPYRIGHT DATE, 4TH GLOBAL 4TH EDITION

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The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, and Cases
James Brian; Mintzberg, Henry; James, Robert M. Quinn
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIWU7O

Book Description

Rachel's Oma (her grandmother) has two picture albums. In one the photographs show only happy times -- from after World War II, when she and her daughters had come to America. But the other album includes much sadder times from before -- when their life in Germany was destroyed by the Nazis' rise to power.

For as long as Rachel can remember, Oma has closed the other album when she's gotten to the sad part. But today Oma will share it all. Today Rachel will hear about what her grandmother, her mother, and her aunts endured. And she'll see how the power of this Jewish family's love for one another gave them the strength to survive.

Marisabina Russo illuminates a difficult subject for young readers with great sensitivity. Based on the author's own family history, Always Remember Me is a heartbreaking -- and inspiring -- book sure to touch anyone who reads it.

Customer Reviews:

Always..........2007-02-08

This excellent new children's book dealing with the Holocaust approaches the subject in a refreshing, non-threatening way that makes it a sure winner. Popular children's book author/illustrator Marisabina Russo tells the story of her own family history, focusing on the four strong Jewish women (her grandmother, her mother, and her two aunts) who most influenced her life. Russo's story features a young girl named Rachel who is finally deemed old enough to hear the full story of her Oma's (German grandmother's) life. Oma begins with an aged album of pictures of her life before she came to America and ends with her new, clean album of pictures of her "second life" in America. "Why am I so lucky to have two lives? That is a long and interesting story", says Oma. Children will be drawn into Oma's tale of the simple and happy life she led in pre-war Germany--pre-war in this case going back to pre-World War I--and the successive births of her three beloved daughters. Each daughter is carefully identified by Rachel as either her mother or one of her aunts, which reassures the reader that this story will have a happy ending. The tragedy of life in the camps is not the focus of this tale, and there is only one paragraph of explanation of those years. Clearly Russo is focusing on the joyous times of her grandmother's long life, and the incredible sense of "luck" Oma feels that she and her three daughters all survived those times and were reunited to begin anew in America. The illustrations are particularly clever as they are clearly drawn imitations of real-life photos and documents but retain their immediacy as colorful re-creations. The true photos are used as endpapers, which enhance the fun of finding the real photo that corresponds to the textual narrative of Oma's tale. This book is a joyous celebration of life. Clearly the luck that had followed her relatives has blessed young Rachel in turn and allowed Russo to share her own remarkable family with us.
Reviewed by Lisa Silverman

Great historical picture book!.......2005-08-30

It is hard to find books--particularly picture books--about the Holocaust and World War II that are appropriate for young audiences. ALWAYS REMEMBER ME: HOW ONE FAMILY SURVIVED WORLD WAR II is a great find indeed!

ALWAYS REMEMBER ME is a story within a story. Oma is sharing her family history with her young granddaughter, Rachel, as the two look through two photo albums. One photo album contains pictures of her life in Poland and Germany. These photos contain pictures that evoke happy memories of the grandmother's life (her childhood, her marriage, her motherhood)...but some of the later pictures in the book evoke sad memories of what happened when the Nazis took control of Germany. Fortunately, Oma and two of her daughters survive concentration camp (her oldest daughter had immigrated to America). The second photo album contains pictures of the family once they have moved to America to start their new lives.

The endpapers are designed as a scrapbook/photo album. Black and white photos (also sepia-toned photos) line the endpapers with white cursive captions identifying the people, places, and ages of the photographic subjects.

There is a five word glossary identifying Yiddish and German words used in the picture book, and there is a two-page afterward summarizing briefly Hitler's rise to power and the Holocaust.

In addition to being a great story/introduction to the Holocaust, I enjoy the celebration of family that ALWAYS REMEMBER ME embodies. It is a great story about how important it is to pass down family stories and keepsakes. I love the bond between Rachel and her grandmother.

Book Description

As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state, its agents, and its political elites from responsibility. Paul Brass encourages us to look more closely at the issues of violence, ethnicity, and the state by focusing on specific instances of violence in their local contexts and questioning the prevailing interpretations of them. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, including police-public confrontations and Hindu-Muslim riots, Brass shows how, out of many possible interpretations applicable to these incidents, government and the media select those that support existing relations of power in state and society.

Adopting different modes--narrator, detective, and social scientist--Brass treats incidents of collective violence arising initially out of common occurrences such as a drunken brawl, the rape of a girl, and the theft of an idol, and demonstrates how some incidents remain localized while others are fit into broader frameworks of meaning, thereby becoming useful for upholders of dominant ideologies. Incessant talk about violence and its implications in these circumstances contributes to its persistence rather than its reduction. Such treatment serves in fact to mask the causes of violence, displace the victims from the center of attention, and divert society's gaze from those responsible for its endemic character. Brass explains how this process ultimately implicates everyone in the perpetuation of systems of violence.

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$4.98 was too much!
Phenominal story
Not his best work, but readable
An editor, an editor! My kingdom for an editor!
Where Did He Dig This Up?

Fallen Idols
J. F. Freedman
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0446531898

Book Description

Prominent archaeologists Walt and Jocelyn Gaines had just completed the latest phase of excavation of a fabulous Mayan ruin when they were waylaid by bandits. In the skirmish, Jocelyn was fatally wounded. The couple's three sons, Clancy, Tom, and Will, are devastated, but the loss is compounded when their father suddenly cuts off all contact without explanation. Together, the trio attempt to reconstruct what happened, and discover their father living a life of surprising affluence with a mysterious young girlfriend. The brothers explore every corner of their parents' lives and eventually end up in Central America to confront their mother's killer. But just when they know enough to suspect the worst, they discover that the truth is actually much more complex than they could have imagined.

Customer Reviews:

$4.98 was too much!.......2006-06-11

I had never heard of this author before seeing the HC on the bargain rack but the price and gloss-synopsis on the dust jackets played me like a chameleon. "What you see isn't what you get" should have been the tagline or perhaps - "a fool and his money are soon parted". This is pehaps the very worst book I have ever forced myself to finish cover-to-cover. The bloated detailing made me think that I was actually rading the production notes on a screenplay. The trademarked brand name-dropping became so trite halfway through the book that I looked up it here to be sure I wasn't just irrational. I found several reviewers remarking on the same. One quipped that the book was in desperate need of an editor & another talked of the 60 page story fluffed out to 500. It's all true. What's even worse is the "for pay" endorsement by Robert Parker. I assume this because the quote attributed to him is pure B.S. It is neither "compelling", "taut" nor "wonderfully told". All I can say for my experience was that I was too stubborn to close it and discard.

Phenominal story.......2005-12-27

This is the first book that I have read by this author and it wont be the last I read by him. This has to be my favorite book so far, a real page turner. I finished reading the book in 7 hours, had great difficulty trying to put it down. I also liked the lesson about adultry, thought that was intriguing.

Not his best work, but readable.......2005-09-02

I was rather disappointed in this book, I have come to expect much more from him.
There's too many unnecessary details about the children that make this book slow reading. The plot line is predictable. I actually started it three times before I was able to get interested enough to finish.
I regret that I paid retail and did not wait to get a a used book store. It is sometimes hard to find his books there, but they had several copies of this one. I imagine many other local readers were disappointed also.

An editor, an editor! My kingdom for an editor!.......2004-11-23

What you have here is about 60 pages of material stretched out to 498 pages. I can't believe I actually read the first 350 or so. It's as if Freedman and his publisher colluded to create a massive waste of time. The story is set up early and then goes nowhere for an eternity. Finally, when you can't stand the pointless descriptions and stagnant plot, you might be tempted to skip to the end. Unfortunately, at this point, it becomes clear that the author never intended for you to figure anything out until you had read about 400 pages. The ending is not only clumsy, but of a very "deus-ex-machina" nature; that is, there was never any reason to suspect the true culprit except that there was never any reason to suspect the true culprit. (Yes, I know that sounds redundant, but then the whole novel is an exercise in repetition. My sympathy if you paid for the hardcover version.)

Where Did He Dig This Up?.......2004-09-21

This is my fourth Freedman novel, having read "Above the Law", "The Disappearance" and "Bird's Eye View" prior to "Fallen Idols". What I have always loved about this author's work is his ability to captivate me with a mystery from the start, then keep me guessing until the end. This book did neither.

The book centers around a renowned archaeologist, Walt Gaines, and his wife, Jocelyn. When Jocelyn is killed at the end of a dig, Walt and his three adult sons are devastated. After the funeral, Walt quits his job at the University of Wisconsin, moves to California and severs practically all contact with his family.

The sons investigate, and find a lifestyle that is inconsistent with Walt's means. As they investigate, they find that there may be more to their mother's death than they had been led to believe. This, coupled with Walt's mysterious new life spurs them on to discover all they can find out about the past.

While a fascinating character study, I found the book to be slow in places and missing the aforementioned formula that makes this author a favorite.

This one is far from being a priceless relic.

Theft of an Idol ; Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence

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Theft of an Idol ; Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence
Paul R. Brass
Manufacturer: Seagull Books Pvt. Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 8170461189

Theft Of Jesus portrait at W.Va. High School leads to settlement offer.(West Virginia): An article from: Church & State

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Theft Of Jesus portrait at W.Va. High School leads to settlement offer.(West Virginia): An article from: Church & State
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Church & State, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 775 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Theft Of Jesus portrait at W.Va. High School leads to settlement offer.(West Virginia)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Church & State (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 59 Issue: 9 Page: 14(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This account of the basic theme of Vico's mature philosophy explores the question of whether philosophical theories can ever be more than an intellectual expression of the underlying beliefs of an age. The first complete English translation of the 1725 text, Vico's The First New Science ia now accessible to a broad, new readership. It is accompanied by a glossary, bibliography, chronology of Vico's life and expository introduction.

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The First New Science gives a clear account of Vico's mature philosophy: the belief that certain functions which are necessary for the maintenance of human society and culture, including philosophy, also condition them historically. This challenges the traditional view that philosophy can lay claim to an historically independent viewpoint, thus bringing into question the legitimacy of the claims of universal prescriptive political theories as against the de facto political beliefs of particular historical societies. This is the first of Vico's later major books in which he wrote in Italian in order not merely to expound but to demonstrate in practice, his conception of the philosophical importance of etymology. This Cambridge Texts edition is the first complete English translation of the 1725 text. Accompanied by a glossary, bibliography, chronology of Vico's life and expository introduction, it makes this important work accessible to students for the first time.

Customer Reviews:

Uplifting story based on fact.......2006-03-28

This book is one of the few uplifting stories based on reality and not fiction. It's the story of a tag-along onboard Paul Watson's sea vessel. Paul Watson is a modern-day pirate who patrols international waters and interferes with/or shuts down illegal fishing and hunting. The concept is interesting by itself, but this book puts that idea into a real world situtation involving confrontations in the middle of the ocean where there are no laws. Watson is an inspiration for our generation... who else do you know that attacks Japanese whaling ships?

Some of the story-telling by the author is sub-par, but the content definitely keeps you going. Definitely recommend.

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