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Average customer rating:

hehe
McCarthys artistic prose gives us a chilling account of an apocalypse
Apocalyptic Achievement
The Future
Stunning Tribute to McCarthy's Son

The Road
Cormac McCarthy
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0307265439
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

Best known for his Border Trilogy, hailed in the San Francisco Chronicle as "an American classic to stand with the finest literary achievements of the century," Cormac McCarthy has written ten rich and often brutal novels, including the bestselling No Country for Old Men, and The Road. Profoundly dark, told in spare, searing prose, The Road is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece, one of the best books we've read this year, but in case you need a second (and expert) opinion, we asked Dennis Lehane, author of equally rich, occasionally bleak and brutal novels, to read it and give us his take. Read his glowing review below. --Daphne Durham

Guest Reviewer: Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane, master of the hard-boiled thriller, generated a cult following with his series about private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, wowed readers with the intense and gut-wrenching Mystic River, blew fans all away with the mind-bending Shutter Island, and switches gears with Coronado, his new collection of gritty short stories (and one play).

Cormac McCarthy sets his new novel, The Road, in a post-apocalyptic blight of gray skies that drizzle ash, a world in which all matter of wildlife is extinct, starvation is not only prevalent but nearly all-encompassing, and marauding bands of cannibals roam the environment with pieces of human flesh stuck between their teeth. If this sounds oppressive and dispiriting, it is. McCarthy may have just set to paper the definitive vision of the world after nuclear war, and in this recent age of relentless saber-rattling by the global powers, it's not much of a leap to feel his vision could be not far off the mark nor, sadly, right around the corner. Stealing across this horrific (and that's the only word for it) landscape are an unnamed man and his emaciated son, a boy probably around the age of ten. It is the love the father feels for his son, a love as deep and acute as his grief, that could surprise readers of McCarthy's previous work. McCarthy's Gnostic impressions of mankind have left very little place for love. In fact that greatest love affair in any of his novels, I would argue, occurs between the Billy Parham and the wolf in The Crossing. But here the love of a desperate father for his sickly son transcends all else. McCarthy has always written about the battle between light and darkness; the darkness usually comprises 99.9% of the world, while any illumination is the weak shaft thrown by a penlight running low on batteries. In The Road, those batteries are almost out--the entire world is, quite literally, dying--so the final affirmation of hope in the novel's closing pages is all the more shocking and maybe all the more enduring as the boy takes all of his father's (and McCarthy's) rage at the hopeless folly of man and lays it down, lifting up, in its place, the oddest of all things: faith. --Dennis Lehane

Book Description

A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

Customer Reviews:

hehe.......2007-06-30

I really enjoyed this book. I think some of the people who've reviewed it here see more in it than there is and some see much less than there is. I took from it a moving emotional experience, and that is all I ever truly crave in a book. It took me about three pages to get past McCarthy's peculiar approach to punctuation and I have a masters degree in English literature There are those who spend the same amount of space here to whine about their dislike of the same. That's McCarthy, though. You never get punctuation in his books. You get good and evil. As for the story ... its spare, its bare bones, elemental. What we learn fits the apocalyptic setting we're given. For me the book is an absolute success save that the end might have been a bit less abrupt if for no other reason than that I wanted to know more.

McCarthys artistic prose gives us a chilling account of an apocalypse.......2007-06-30

Is is essentially a simple book. There is no complicated philosophical narrative or profundity of thought, the key lies in the descriptive prose. It tells of a Father and Son in an apocalypic time period with little or no hope left in the world. Its tells us of their journey along a road to find it. It gives us a believable account of the two opposing sides of human nature and how they react to the extremes of desolation. On the one side cruelty and wretchedness, on the other forbearance and humanity. Marvellously written, an excellent book. If I was to offer one small criticism, its the book's end. Knowing McCarthy's obvious talent I expected it to be stupefying. Unfortunatley ithe inertia ended with a small pop rather than a loud bang

Apocalyptic Achievement.......2007-06-29

This book had me spellbound from the first wood until the last word. While this book would have been an immediate American classic if it were released 10 years ago, the impact is only heightened in a post 9/11 world -- one where the growing threat of radical fundamentalism (of all societies) and global warming create a landscape where "The Road" achieves a heightened sense of urgency and realism.

As a father, this book caused my to reflect on every action the man took and think about the consequences for his son. Would I have made the same choices? What would I have done if that choice had resulted in the son's death? Was the journey to the sea worth it? How would I deal with "the burden" of having to physically, emotionally and spiritually protect my son? Or the burden of knowing I was dying and the helpless feeling of what would happen to my son?

I've seen other people critical of the man for not killing his boy to spare him from the evils of the this apocalyptic world. They fail to see that the "The Road" is not a book about evil, death or defeat. It is ultimately a book about hope. Hope, that in spite of all the evil that human beings are capable, life will triumph over death, good over evil. Killing him would have been killing life, hope and all that is good.

A poignant masterpiece that will rightly earn a place in the pantheon of American Literature.

The Future.......2007-06-28

Get ready to not put this down. Grab something to drink and eat, then sit some place comfortable and get drawn into our likely future. With luck, this will scare you into becoming more active as a citizen at the local and national levels. If we, as citizens, continue to ignore what is being done in our names, this book will show you the outcome of that complacency.

Stunning Tribute to McCarthy's Son.......2007-06-27

This is a stunning tribute to McCarthy's son. The Road is a story about an apocalytic world. It tells the story of a father and son who travel this road looking for a way to survive. A story that shows that hope and love can survive in the midst of utter devastation and chaos.

The book had a profound impact on me and was ominous and unsettling. But despite those very real emotions when reading the novel, I came away appreciating what is really important in my life a lot more.

Bentley/2007

The Road

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

Average customer rating:

Laughing this loud is embarrasing.
One of those books I'll pass along and gift to many people
Laugh aloud funny!
Careful about drinking while reading!
This will make your life better

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
Bill Bryson
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 076791936X
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Book Description

From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s

Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid."

Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.

Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.

Customer Reviews:

Laughing this loud is embarrasing........2007-06-30

I have long been a fan of Bill Bryson for his extremely funny travel books. He's done England and America, the Continent, Australia, and the Appalachian Trail. (He also wrote \i{A History of Nearly Everything}, but that was different.) I find I have to be careful not to read his books on an airplane because I have a habit of bursting out laughing--which can be embarrassing.

This one is the most wonderful travelogue of all--Des Moines in the fifties. Ok, Des Moines is not exactly exciting (as he is the first to point out), but his travelogue back in time is quite wonderful!

Understand that it never occurred to me that my home town of Grand Junction, Colorado, the most isolated small town in America (250 miles to any city of any size whatsoever) as being a lot like Des Moines, Iowa, but it turns out that back then it was. Well, ok, Des Moines was a "big" city, so it was partly like Grand Junction and partly like Grand Junction plus my family's annual excursions to Denver. (Des Moines actually had an escalator in their department store, for example. The closest one to us was at May D&F in Denver.) (And he had a lot more kids around.) (In my neighborhood there were four (4) of us.)

But what is significant is the fact that the book is a lot more about being a kid in the fifties than it is specifically about Des Moines or Grand Junction or anywhere else in Middle America. But the feeling he captures so exquisitely, I not only recognize, but realize that it may never have existed before or since.

His description of the wonderful, happy world we grew up in (well, "happy" as represented by all the magazines, TV shows, and movies), with its long periods of nothing to do but study flowers...or grass...or the pavement, is exquisite.

"So this is a book about not very much: about being small and getting larger slowly. One of the great myths of life is that childhood passes quickly. In fact, because time moves more slowly in Kid World--five times more slowly in a classroom on a hot afternoon, eight times more slowly on any car journey of more than five miles (rising to eighty-six times more slowly when driving across Nebraska or Pennsylvania lengthwise), and so slowly during the last week before birthdays, Christmases and summer vacations as to be functionally immeasurable--it goes on for decades when measured in adult terms. It is adult life that is over in a twinkling."

He actually points out--in print--how incredibly disappointing those toys were that we saved up box tops for.

The particular stories he tells about his adventures of course are different from the particular adventures that I had, but the emotional content is spot on. By the time he came along (he's four years younger than me) television was more established, for example--although its effect when it did make it to Grand Junction was much as he described.

I suppose that some of the aspects of childhood that he describes are still true, but I wonder. Children now are hustled from one thing to another with such frenetic abandonment (by baby boomer parents who have forgotten that childhood requires time and peace and quiet), that it seems that something important is lost. No wonder children seem to have become over-medicated zombies.

I really recommend this book!

One of those books I'll pass along and gift to many people.......2007-06-29

I cannot say enough about how enjoyable this hilarious and sentimental book is. Bravo, Bill Bryson!

Take the warm nostalgic 1950s elements of Stephen King's writing and mix in the hilarious yet lyrical prose of Augusten Burroughs or David Sedaris and just for good measure, throw in a dash of socio-cultural commentary by a knowledgeable historian of post-WWII America, and you've got before you Bill Bryson's finest work to date: "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid."

With his memoir, Bryson has made me stop yearning for a time machine of my own to have the privilege of experiencing America's finest time--not because I no longer believe the fifties to be the greatest--but because his little book transports you there and allows you to experience all the idyllic moments of this country's renaissance. Sure, I of course understand that most of the "Leave it to Beaver"-ish moments that are portrayed in television, film, print, music, etc. is exaggerated to say the least, but you still close this book realizing that so many of the wonders of the world were lost when that decade did, and the world was never to be the same.

Bryson's memoir is not, however, a clichéd argument that the fifties was the greatest era in American history, or rather if this is his assessment, it is only because it was the time of his childhood. Any reader, regardless of the decade of their childhood, can appreciate the nostalgic longing in Bryson's book. Who among us can't rattle off any number of childhood friends, television programs, childhood heroes, hangouts, establishments, foods, and moments of hilarity that are so close in our memory that we feel we can reach out and grab them?

If only we could.

Laugh aloud funny!.......2007-06-25

Bryson skewers, among other things, Iowa, childhood, adolescence and all the silliness and inexplicable optimism of the 1950's in the US of A with a humor that is laugh aloud enjoyable. At the same time he tackles the intolerance and cruelty of the period, and that ain't funny. And ultimately there's a haze of nostalgia for a uniqueness of place and time that's long gone.

Careful about drinking while reading!.......2007-06-23

Also be careful about eating while reading - if you are fussy about not messing up your books and if it's a book by Bill Bryson. Especially this one, part personal memoir and part look back at the 1950's in middle class small-town USA. Because unless you've had your sense of humor extracted, or were born without one, you will laugh out loud many times, and we all know the risks of suddenly breaking out in a laugh when you've just taken a sip or a bite.

Bryson skewers morons and some of the shortcomings of the 1950's US culture with dead-on humor and paints an unsentimental and ultimately loving picture of his nuclear family.

I'm almost as "chronologically advanced" (a phrase used by another reviewer here) as Bryson and spent my 1950's childhood in a small town in the Midwest US. This book was a delight from start to finish, with a few bits that were a little weak but not enough to kill my enjoyment.

After I read Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country," I quit thinking "someday" and booked a trip to Australia. Now that I've read "Thunderbolt Kid" and quit laughing, I wish that I could book a trip to the 1950's.

I'm not passing my copy of this book along to anyone. I know I'm reading it again. I have sent a copy to one of my old neighborhood gang, though.

This will make your life better.......2007-06-22

Yes, I'm a Bryson fan, I've read several of his travel books, and often find myself laughing out loud with both appreciation and agreement.
I didn't rush to read this memoir, not sure that I was that interested in reading about the man himself. DO read this book, it has a little to do with Bryson but MUCH to do with: growing up in the mid-West, growing up in an unsophisticated place, growing up in the 50s and 60s, growing up with eccentric parents, growing up anywhere anyplace anytime.
Bryson's writing is not only hilariously funny in most places, but it is also sweet, notstalgic, and yet not sugar-coated. He knows, and we know, that lots of things were NOT better back then, just different. There are great photos that illustrate his life and times, and even a really interesting historical fact here and there.
Buy this book, lighten your load for some hours, laugh, and smile.

Roadshow : Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle

Average customer rating:

No-Show
Peart - what else can you say?
Rush Fans: Motorcyclists: A Book to Appeal to the Intersection of These Submarkets
Motorcycling with Life on the Road anecdotes.
entertaining and insightful

Roadshow : Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle
Neil Peart
Manufacturer: Rounder Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1579401422

Book Description

Neil Peart is an internationally acclaimed, bestselling, and award-nominated author, and for more than thirty years has been the legendary drummer and lyricist for the band Rush. For decades, Neil prepared and waited to write a book about the biggest journey of all in his restless existence, his ultimate travelogue - a concert tour. Finally, the right time and the right tour: Rush's 30th anniversary trek -- 9 countries, 57 shows, and 500,000 fans.

Customer Reviews:

No-Show.......2007-06-27

Neil is a rather pedantic author, and I get the feeling that he really does not care all that much for America or Americans in general. The book is disappointing in a few ways. It's rather slow, and as far as content goes it lacks any real insight. There is no point to it. It is not even a good travel journal as far as I was concerned. I'll give it to a rabid Rush fan who might be able to overlook its shortcomings.

Peart - what else can you say?.......2007-06-19

Not only is Peart an incredible drummer he is a very articulate writer. This book is interesting and quite funny, just makes you want to keep reading.

Rush Fans: Motorcyclists: A Book to Appeal to the Intersection of These Submarkets.......2007-06-04

The book does not recount any real adventures - unless losing a saddlebag or a bike tow counts; it provides little insight into Rush - still don't know how the collaboration between Mr. Peart's lyric-writing and Lee and Lifeson's music composition results in the final product; and the 'on-the-road' philosophy can be glib at times - "adventures are not fun when you're having them," but somehow, this unpretensious book about nothing is a very engaging, page-turning experience. I enjoyed it quite a lot, as I did the previous "Ghost Rider" (which was much more about travel and personal experiences, naturally, than this).

What comes across most of all is that Peart is the antithesis of the rock-star. He is an insightful, studious, literary, and complicated gentleman who happens to play the drums and make his unlikely living in the music business.

This book would probably appeal more to motorcyclists than Rush afficionados (I happen to be both), due largely to the aforementioned lack of detail concerning the band (although it does give a good account of the touring aspects of the group), but will probably be read by more of the latter, as there are more Rush fans than motorcyclists. If I didn't ride, I should think I would have enjoyed the book less. If I didn't like the band Rush and didn't ride, the book would never have crossed my Radar screen: which does lead to the conclusion that this is, at the end of the day, a novelty book for Rush fans (and motorcycling Rush fans, in particular).

So if you are reading this review, you are certainly in the target audience and should probably give this book a try.

One constructive comment to Mr. Peart: shorter chapters, please! I ended up reading it faster because there are few good places to pause.

Motorcycling with Life on the Road anecdotes........2007-06-03

I believe Neil had allready secured his future as a writer years ago. I've followed Rush for many years, but when I learned of Neil's passion for riding motorcycles and getting off the beaten path during the touring schedule of Rush, I was curious.

I've read some reviews that criticize Neil's reclusiveness and his comments about Rush fans who seek him out. He rarely if ever hangs out after a concert and is usually out the venue door within 5 minutes. One would believe he neither enjoys touring nor understands the importance that he has had on millions of drummers. He clearly has difficulty dealing with his fame on the publicity end but the writing gives him an opportunity to reveal his beliefs and where his interests lie.

I enjoyed reading about his experiences just prior to the first show date. I could feel his stress as he described it. The tours from that point seem to go by pretty quickly, and we are on the road with him and his quest to obtain various National Park stamps while he describes the landscapes whizzing by him and some of the historical backround of the areas. We enter Neil's mind here on the road. He is witty, and comical at times.

This book will appeal to motorcycle enthusiasts who enjoy reading a travel narrative, as well as the Rush fan who wishes to learn more about Neil's life on the road. He does not disappoint and has all the angles covered.

entertaining and insightful.......2007-05-24

Being in a band myself and studying the "professor" of the drum kit it was a must read. Neil captures life backstage, life on the road and the inner workings of a twentieth century rock show. He starts at his front door and captures evrything that happens or can happen to you while travelling on the road. It also captures the open road and the feelings you get when having a road trip. Awesome work!

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China

Average customer rating:

Felt compelled to post a review
I couldn't put it down....
Say yes to Shaolin
What A Fun Read
China, Buddhism, Martial Arts, What a story

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China
Matthew Polly
Manufacturer: Gotham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Book of Martial Power

ASIN: 1592402623
Release Date: 2007-02-01

Book Description

Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American's quest to become a kung fu master at China's legendary Shaolin Temple.

Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.

Expecting to find an isolated citadel populated by supernatural ascetics that he'd seen in countless badly dubbed chop-socky flicks, Matthew instead discovered a tacky tourist trap run by Communist party hacks. But the dedicated monks still trained in the rigorous age-old fighting forms—some even practicing the “iron kung fu” discipline, in which intensive training can make various body parts virtually indestructible (even the crotch). As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become.

Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale of one young man's journey into the ancient art of kung fu—and a funny and poignant portrait of a rapidly changing China.

Customer Reviews:

Felt compelled to post a review.......2007-06-30

This is the book I enjoyed the most of all the hundreds books I've read. I've recommended the book to my sister and friends and everyone liked it as much as I do. Read itand you'll find yourself laughing and smiling by yourself.

I couldn't put it down...........2007-06-17

I read a lot, and while it is cliche to say "I couldn't put it down," this book is one of the rare recent books I've read where this was true. If you have an interest in martial arts, China, and Buddhism (or, rather, in self-discovery), then buy this book. It will be perfect for you. Also, I recently returned from China as an ex-pat (though my stay in China was short by ex-pat standards), and this book was a nostalgic, emotional return to a remarkable and interesting country.

Say yes to Shaolin.......2007-05-28

Excellent book. Very well written. Matthew Polly does a superb job of describing his time spent at the Shaolin Temple. I found it very interesting, especially the part about the iron crotch, and learned a lot about Buddhist monks and China, more than I ever would have imagined or even expected.

What A Fun Read.......2007-05-26

What a great story of a young man wanting to change the things he felt was wrong with him (the same things all young man want to change). He endures some hardships and with great sacrifices comes out a better person. It was also an insight into Chinese culture and taught me how very different we are here in USA, but also a lot alike. It was also comforting to learn that even Shaolin Monks are human...and not perfect.

China, Buddhism, Martial Arts, What a story.......2007-05-12

Well written story of a young American living his dream. A confused college student gets bored with Princeton (how that can be only he knows) and decides to just pick up and go to China. When he gets off the plane he acutally has to ask the Chinese people if they know where the Shaolin Temple is. Who in their right mind would have the guts at 19 years old to do that? What a delightful story of an event filled adventure into the heart of China. Everyone has a dream, but very few actually take this level of risk and live it. Great story.

Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development (with Observing Children and Adolescents CD-ROM and Workbook)

Average customer rating:

Used this book for Nursing course in human development
Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development

Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development (with Observing Children and Adolescents CD-ROM and Workbook)
Spencer A. Rathus
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0534528996

Book Description

Read, Observe, Apply, and Discover with Rathus's text! The hands-on approach of Spencer A. Rathus's chronologically organized CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE: VOYAGES IN DEVELOPMENT, Second Edition augments your goal of helping students understand the link between developmental theories and research and their application to everyday life. By utilizing the proven PQ4R (Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Review, Recite) pedagogical approach and interspersing personal and humorous stories, Rathus makes reading and studying an enjoyable process of discovery. As students proceed through each chapter, they can observe the principles of development in action by viewing video footage of children at play and in experimental situations as found on the "Observing Children and Adolescents" CD-ROM (included with Rathus' text). Screen grabs from the video, plus coordinating exercises, help students understand and apply what they learn to their current lives and future careers.

Customer Reviews:

Used this book for Nursing course in human development.......2006-03-10

Great texkbook. Easy to read and understand. Excellent information

Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development.......2005-09-26

I am really enjoying this book. It has a smooth transition from infancy to adolescence. Each chapter focuses on several areas pertaining to a specific age group and each subject is divided into subtitles. The flow of the book makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for very quickly.

Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)

Average customer rating:

The Rule of Two
A history lesson for Star Wars fans
very good hard to put down
Pleasant suprise!
Episode 0

Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)
Drew Karpyshyn
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Allegiance (Star Wars)
Bloodlines (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 2)
Tempest (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 3)
Betrayal (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 1)
Exile (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 4)

ASIN: 0345477367
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Book Description

Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy–and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape–a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.

On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army, and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy–if he can prove himself truly worthy.

As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure . . . especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival. Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph–and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.

Customer Reviews:

The Rule of Two.......2007-06-27

This book is a true masterpiece, telling how the Sith order from the Star Wars movies begins, taking you through the story of Darth Bane's rise to power and how and why he established the rule of two in the order. Any fan captivated by the Sith should truly love this wonderful ADULT book.

A history lesson for Star Wars fans.......2007-06-21

One thousand years before the rise of Darth Vader, another Dark Lord came to power, one who would change the Sith forever.

Growing up, Dessel had known only abuse and back-breaking labor in the cortosis mines. Desperate to escape his bleak life, he enters a high-stakes sabacc game against some Republic soldiers. The soldiers turn out to be poor losers and Des defends himself with lethal force. To escape murder charges, Des joins the army of the Sith, who are waging war against the Republic and the Jedi. Des's natural abilities in the Force soon catch the attention of a Sith master who arranges for him to enter the Sith Academy, where he is trained in the ways of the Dark Side. Facing deception, treachery, betrayal, and his own uncertainties, Des, now known as Bane, struggles to discover what it truly means to be Sith. When he at last uncovers the answers in an old Holocron, he sets in motion a plan that will bring the Sith final victory over the Jedi.

As one would expect from a book about the Sith, the main characters have few redeeming features. Even the Jedi, who are relegated the only a few scenes, spend much of their time sniping at each other. Although the book is quite dark, I didn't get the feeling the author was trying to glorify evil. Instead he simply chronicled Bane's gradual embrace of his darker passions, leaving it up to the readers to decide for themselves what constitutes evil.

It was nice to read a book from an era of the Star Wars saga that is pretty much unexplored. The book's ending leaves room for a sequel, and I, for one, hope there will be more novels set in the time of the Old Republic.

very good hard to put down.......2007-06-12

i am a big fan of star wars and like to read books that are based around the movies like what happened in between each movie so i wasn really sure on what to expect on something that happened light years before the first movie but boy was i surprised i started reading and the next thing i knew i was done.i couldnt put the book down it was very good and intertaining to read.i have let other friends and family members borrow the book and so far everyone loved it too,i suggest if you like star wars give this book a try

Pleasant suprise!.......2007-06-10

As a huge Star Wars fan, I read all of the novels. Generally speaking, I much prefer the later adventures starring Luke, Han and Leia to the earlier EU. That said, this book was terrific. I like villains and we don't get many books that focus on the villain as the protagonist. Watching the development of this character from abused child to monster was fascinating. It's not easy to root for a "bad guy" but Bane works most of his evil on other evil people which is enjoyable. Great read.

Episode 0.......2007-05-22

I went into this book with the intention of finding out the backstory of the Star Wars movie saga with respect to the Sith without resorting to playing video games, or reading a comic book with bad artwork and cheesy dialogue. Before reading this I prepared myself for a journey into evil by reminding myself that this book had no good-guy protagonist like most of the Star Wars movels I have read. I wasn't expecting a great novel, but an informative one. This book is the result of Lucas toying with the idea of making another prequel movie that would be set in this time period, so I refer to this book as "Episode 0."

And let me briefly mention that the complaints against this novel contradicting a few points of comic books continuity are unwarranted. These updates are improvements, and haven't you ever heard of a "retcon?" The most recently published product supercedes the previous product. That's like the viewers of Episode II who were upset at Lucas for not adhering to the Boba Fett backstory from the Expanded Universe. Retcon! The previous backstory became null-and-void...accept it!

This novel features the story of Darth Bane, the Sith Lord who destroyed the other Sith and instituted the Rule of Two about a thousand years before the time of the movies. I have to say that the story is very well-crafted. As the character of Bane is developing, he is not completely evil and I did sympathize with him. Bane is our protagonist, but his story in that of the Anti-Hero. Some elements of the mythological hero path are here, but in a reverse Dark Side way.

For example, Bane goes on an epic hero quest to an ancient Sith Temple, and instead of that resulting in spiritual elightenment of the good kind, Bane is disappointed to find utter spiritual abandonment. But it sets up a chain of events that lead Bane to completely embrace the Dark Side. And instead of the hero bringing back the wisdom he gains to benefit his society, our anti-hero realizes that the only way to save his people is to destroy them all (except himself of course).

When Bane switches from killing Sith to also killing innocent people just gain strength from the evil action itself, I instantly stopped sympathizing with him at all, and the sudden change was a very effective literary tool. I actually felt the supreme tragedy of this novel, desite the destruction of the other Sith Lords. At the end it seemed very realistic that a warped being of supreme evil would set up the chain of events that would lead to Darth Sidious taking over the galaxy and revenge on the entire Jedi Order.

Will I ever re-read this novel? Probably not. But I was surprised that I liked the novel as much as I did. This novel is also highly rated because, while it incorporates much of the Expanded Universe, it is not contadictory to the film saga like so much of the other Star Wars products out there. I will buy the paperback and it will be first on my chronological bookshelf of Star Wars fiction which I personally accept as canon.

I would really like another Novel of the Old Republic that takes place over a hundred years later. A young diminutive Jedi Knight/Master protagonist named Yoda discovers that the Sith were not destroyed as believed, and the Rule of Two was uncovered in his investigation. The Sith master of the time realizes that Yoda is geting too close, but doesn't tell his apprentice and manipulates him/her. The Sith apprentice attempts to kill his/her master and believes he/she was successful, the apprentice declares him/herself a Sith master and Yoda hunts him/her down. The climax of the book could be Yoda destroying the Sith Lord/Lady. And to make it a somewhat happy ending Yoda's heroic actions do prevent some great evil from occuring in the galaxy. Of course this was all the intention of the original Sith master to lead Yoda's investigation astray. The master survives in the shadows and trains a new apprentice. The Jedi Order is convinced that the Sith are completely destroyed, which would bring more power and drama to Yoda and Mace Windu's dialogue at the end of The Phantom Menace...

"But which was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?"

I highly recommend the following 5-star novels:

Cloak of Deception (Star Wars)
Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul)
Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars, Episode III Prequel Novel)
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars)
Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)

Average customer rating:

This is the Truth!!!
Sam Damn Arrogances
Well Worth Reading
Can I vote Zero?
The Chinese Trump Columbus

1421: The Year China Discovered America
Gavin Menzies
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433
1421 - The Year China Discovered America
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America
The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention

ASIN: 006054094X
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Book Description

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony.

When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in China's long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. Also concealed was how the Chinese colonized America before the Europeans and transplanted in America and other countries the principal economic crops that have fed and clothed the world.

Unveiling incontrovertible evidence of these astonishing voyages, 1421 rewrites our understanding of history. Our knowledge of world exploration as it has been commonly accepted for centuries must now be reconceived due to this landmark work of historical investigation.

Customer Reviews:

This is the Truth!!!.......2007-06-29

The author's thesis is true. Chinese are more advance than any other countries before 'til now. The inventions and science of the Chinese are far from the Westerners. Why some or mostly westerners got famous or came out such this ideas (inventions)? because they copied it from the Chinese/Asians. That is why western navigators have thought of going to explore the globe because they've got the complete map from the Chinese...
The author is correct that the chinese had a gun and cannons when they explored. Why? because they are the one who invented the gun powder. If the chinese have plan to take europe and america at that time it's possible because there enemies used swords and bows while the chinese use guns and cannons.
You can still see it today that Asians are more highly advance than the far West.
Example: 11yrs. ago in far east Asia have text messaging on there mobile
devices while on the America still not yet heard of it... not until 2yrs. ago that they discovered text messgaing is more easier than pagers which still used by some westerners today while in Asia never exist already. (too backward for the Asians to used that) And Westerners before would say why use text instead of calling or paging there is no use of text message. But they didn't think that text messaging are similar to email message. DUH!!!
And now, some t.v. programs use text message to request a song or comments from the audience which far east asians and europe already used it long before, and now they "COPIED" or "stealing ideas" again... They always do. period

Sam Damn Arrogances .......2007-06-18

This whole expression that an entire group or race of people; who knew where they were at, were found (discovered) by another group of people is asinine--as yet another race of people tries to lay claim to something that is not there to own. Is this books assertion of "discovery" going to be coupled with the European genocide, rape and slavery of indigenous peoples that had also been "found/discovered" by the Anglo-race?

Well Worth Reading.......2007-05-14

Rather than voice my own opinions about the topic of this book, I would say that the book is a good read. It's well written, well researched, and well presented -- and terrifically interesting.

Mr. Menzies uses much circumstantial evidence and a great deal of speculation in the absense of hard evidence, but it doesn't disqualify his proposal. He makes a good case, backed with very credible research and experience. Although it rips at much or our Eurocentric knowledge of world history, if you read this book with an open mind, it is as exciting as a good mystery novel.

Can I vote Zero?.......2007-05-09

Folks, just because the guy wrote a controversial piece that "turns Western history on it's head" and just because he is passionate about it DOESN'T MEAN IT'S CORRECT!!!! GAAAHH!! makes my brain hurt...

Mr. Menzies is obvously a fanatic of his own theory and he injects any tiny bit of conjecture into the parameters of this theory. I wouldn't have been surprised if he started to posit that Sasquatch was, in fact, a Chinese Admiral whom let an expedition to Antarctica because he heard they had great suishi down there.

The book starts out with some compelling & reasonable evidence of limited Chinese exploration but by the end you might get a creeping suspicion that you have been suckered. Mr Menzies starts to reach at straws towards the end and it invalidates, for me, he original somewhat-sound but limited evidence he does have for Chinese exploration.

The Chinese Trump Columbus.......2007-02-11

The thesis of this book is every bit as provocative as the cover promises: did Columbus discover the new world, as conventional history teaches, or was his voyage preceded 71 years earlier by a massive Chinese fleet--in fact, several Chinese fleets--that not only discovered America, but also circumnavigated the globe centuries before the expeditions of the great European explorers?

In this hefty book--the paperback is 456 pages long not counting the postscript and appendices--author Gavin Menzies marshals disparate threads of evidence--some physical, some historical (such as charts predating the European voyages), and some conjectural--to stake the astounding claim that in 1421, the progressive emperor Zhu Di sent fleets commanded by Admirals Zheng He, Yang Qing, Xhou Man, Hong Bao and Zhou Wen on epic voyages that ultimately traversed the world, surveying all the continents (except Europe) along the way.

Menzies is a former British submarine commander, a fact that he frequently calls to the attention of the reader. Lacking direct evidence of the route of the Chinese voyages, Menzies substitutes in its place circumstantial theorizing based on his experience as a sailor, navigator and seafaring captain: if the Chinese had ventured to a particular geographic location, where would they go next, given prevailing winds, ocean currents, square-rigged ships that could sail only downwind, and the need to provision the ships with food and water? Postulating answers to these questions, Menzies traces the routes of the Chinese voyages, contending that the fleets split up to survey continents and islands, sailed to specific latitudes to fix the position of navigational stars, and systematically explored the world--leaving colonies, crafts and agriculture of distinct Chinese origin in their wake.

Readers raised with a Eurocentric view of the world will naturally regard these claims with skepticism and astonishment. It is true that Menzies' book is an advocacy piece: evidence of a pre-Columbus Chinese presence, however equivocal or slim, is adduced in support of the thesis; evidence that contradicts the thesis is explained away. For example, when charts are inaccurate, Menzie often attributes the error to the fact that the Chinese did not account for ocean currents. One must wonder, however, how navigators who were sufficiently skilled to navigate the globe and determine longitude by elapsed time during a lunar eclipse could nevertheless fail to realize that currents were affecting their course.

It is also intriguing to compare Menzies' theories with those in "1491" and "Guns, Germs and Steel." I, too, wonder how it would be possible for the Chinese, with domesticated animals, to interact with people in the Americas without communicating infectious diseases and devastating those communities. Menzies' failure to address--even realize--these possible flaws in his work calls into question the validity of his thesis and suggests that alternate inferences from the evidence might be warranted.

Still, the old adage says that where there is smoke, there is fire. Menzies presents enough credible evidence to raise serious questions regarding the Eurocentric view. In the appendices, Menzies lists and categorizes the evidence discussed throughout the book: charts and maps; shipwrecks; transplanted flora and fauna; historical accounts; carved stones; common crafts (such as lacquering); metalwork; and even DNA. Even if one rejects his most extravagant claims, one would still need to acknowledge that Chinese civilization had progressed far beyond that of Europe, and that our Eurocentric view of the world has caused us to ignore the accomplishments of this mighty civilization.

Menzies writes well, and though the narrative periodically devolves into open speculation, there is more than enough substance to keep the reader's attention fixed and to justify Menzies' call for further study.

This book is well worth the price even if one ultimately disbelieves the conclusion.

Tales from the Torrid Zone: Travels in the Deep Tropics

Average customer rating:

Didn't like
Wandering through the tropics
Deep Tropics
So Many Fascinating Stories ... But When Did They Happen?

Tales from the Torrid Zone: Travels in the Deep Tropics
Alexander Frater
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Secret Past
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When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa
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ASIN: 0679408711
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

From one of the most celebrated travel writers at work today—a vibrantly observant, witty, utterly captivating account of a lifetime’s worth of travel between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Part memoir, part travelogue, all passionate appreciation, Tales from the Torrid Zone begins in Iririki, Alexander Frater’s birthplace. On this tiny island in the South Seas republic of Vanuatu, his grandfather, a Presbyterian missionary from Scotland, converted the inhabitants, his father ran the hospital and his mother built its first schoolhouse in their front garden. And it was on Iririki where, on the eve of his sixth birthday, Frater fell victim to “le coup de bamboo . . . a mild form of tropical madness for which, luckily, there is no cure,” and which has compelled him, again and again, to return to the “seeding, breeding, buzzing, barking, fluttering, squawking, germinating, growing” deep tropics.

His travels take him to nearly all of the eighty-eight countries encompassed by this remarkable, steamy swath of the world. He delves deeply into the history and politics of each nation he visits, and into the lives of the inhabitants, and of the flora and fauna. He is, at once, tourist, explorer and adventurer, as fascinated with—and fascinating about—the quotidian as he is with the extraordinary. But certainly, he does not lack for the extraordinary: dining with the Queen of Tonga in a leper colony; making his way across tropical Africa—and two civil wars—in a forty-four-year-old flying boat; delivering a new church bell to a remote Oceanian island.

From Fiji to Laos, Mexico to Peru, Senegal to Uganda, Taiwan to Indonesia, Frater gives us a richly described, wonderfully anecdotal, endlessly surprising picture of this diverse, feverish, languorously beautiful world—as much a state of mind as it is a geographical phenomenon.

Customer Reviews:

Didn't like .......2007-05-26

Somehow this book simply didn't appeal to me. It meanders all over the place, with no dates so you're often left to guess the chronology. Occasional reminiscences about bygone missionaries, their wives, church bells and so on. Not a travel book by any means. Although to be fair, the parts about flying boats and tropical diseases were quite interesting. If you are interested in the South Pacific, I'd reccomend as light fare "The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific" by J. Maarten Troost and the best I've ever read "The Fatal Impact: The Invasion of the South Pacific, 1767-1840"

Wandering through the tropics.......2007-05-07

My first reaction to Frater's "Tales" was mildly negative. He offers digressions within digressions, often jump cutting from place to place with only the mildest narrative logic. After a while, though, I adjusted to the pace and style and became thoroughly engrossed with his account of a life-long passion for the tropics. The book is filled with interesting detail, and thoughtful musings on a wide variety of subjects. I would love to travel with Frater, and reading this book is the next best thing.

Deep Tropics.......2007-04-27

The ellipical structure of the anecdotes will either enchant you or drive you batty trying to figure out when and where he is at any given moment. If you like Paul Theroux's travel books you may like this. It is more ephemeral, but in the end there is a linear tale with somewhat of an arc. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more by him. You will want to visit most of the places when you put down the book. Just bring mosquito repellent and a wry sense of humor.

So Many Fascinating Stories ... But When Did They Happen?.......2007-04-10

The structure of Frater's book is built around his birth to a missionary family in the South Pacific, the love of the tropics that never left him despite many years in rainy England, and his purchase of a new bell for the church founded by his grandfather. A long time travel writer for a British newspaper, Frater has many good stories to tell, and they surface in this book in strange ways; a moment in, say, Fiji, wil remind him of a previous moment, in Mozambique for example, which will remind him of yet another story. Although this is certainly a change from itinerary-based travel writing, I would have liked to at least have footnotes saying when exactly a set of events took place. I often had to re-read paragraphs and sections after I realized that he was in Vanuatu, reminiscing about someplace like Burma.

Mirror Universe Part 1: Glass Empires (Star Trek Mirror Universe)

Average customer rating:

2 out of 3 are great stories
More adventures in the Mirror Universe!
good follow-up to a great episode
Fun on the Dark Side
GREAT!

Mirror Universe Part 1: Glass Empires (Star Trek Mirror Universe)
David Mack , Greg Cox , Mike Sussman , Dayton Ward , and Kevin Dilmore
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Crucible: Spock--The Fire and the Rose (Star Trek)

ASIN: 1416524592

Book Description

There are moments glimpsed only in shadow, where darkness rules and evil incarnate thrives. You hope against hope that in your lifetime, evil is relegated to the shadows. But what if it wasn't?

What if you lived in a universe where your life was measured only by what you could do for the Empire? What would you do to survive? Would you sell your soul to free yourself? If you were offered the chance to rule, would you seize it? If you could free your universe from the darkness but only at the cost of your life, would you pay that price?

Star Trek: Enterprise® She seized power in a heartbeat, daring to place herself against all the overlords of the Empire. Empress Hoshi Sato knows the future that could be; now all she has to do is make sure it never happens. For her to rule, she must hold sway not only over the starship from the future but also over her warlords, the resistance, and her Andorian husband. As quickly and brutally as Hoshi seized power, imperial rule is taken from her. Her only chance to rule again is to ally herself with a lifelong foe, and an alien.

Star Trek® One man can change the future, but does he dare? Spock, intrigued by the vision of another universe's Federation, does what no Vulcan, no emperor, has ever done: seize power in one blinding stroke of mass murder. And at the same instant he gains imperial power, Spock sows the seeds for the Empire's downfall. Is this a form of Vulcan madness, or is it the coolly logical plan of a man who knows the price his universe must pay for its freedom?

Star Trek: The Next Generation® Humanity is a pitiful collection of enslaved, indentured, and abused peoples. No one dares to question the order, except at peril of their lives. One man survives by blinding himself to the misery around him. However, Jean-Luc Picard resists, just once. And in that one instant he unlocks a horror beyond the tyranny of the Alliance. Can a man so beaten down by a lifetime of oppression stop the destruction?

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 3 are great stories.......2007-05-26

I say that two out of three stories are great because the Enterprise era story and the TOS era story were both spectacular. The TNG era story wasn't that great but the author of that one isn't one of my favorites either so I may be biased.

More adventures in the Mirror Universe!.......2007-05-10

Three stories that flow together to form a great picture of the Mirror Universe. Exciting, logical (sorry, couldn't resist) and a joy to read! Highly recommended.

good follow-up to a great episode.......2007-05-03

glass empires is a great story that makes a nice job of connecting Enterprise, star trek and next generation through the mirror universe

Fun on the Dark Side.......2007-04-22

The idea of counterparts, whether through cloning or alternate universes, has always been an intriguing and disturbing one. We like to think of ourselves as unique, but also that we were somehow meant to be the person that we are, regardless of circumstances. To meet a counterpart is to come face to face with what we could have become. Philosophy aside, the Mirror Universe is an entertaining one. We get to see the regular cast as enemies constrained only by power, free to manipulate and betray and even kill each other, or to work together in totally unexpected combinations. And, annoying as it is, there is just something sexy about evil.

I am going to start with the last story in this book, as that was the first one I read. It is titled The Worst of Both Worlds - which unfortunately tells you the plot and main events right there. Since one can guess the main events, the entertainment value of the story has to be higher to compensate. Picard is a tomb raider, and the story begins with a wonderful Indiana Jones-style vignette. After that, it shows us what life is like for the Terrans under conquest, how Picard has managed to make a life for himself, and only himself, and how he gets involved with the resistance, to the extent that he does. The rest of the bridge crew does not appear, which I consider a missed opportunity. Also, there is a secondary story about the resistance mission that just isn't that interesting. It seemed more a chance to show the existence of a resistance than to do anything useful with. On the flip side, any meeting between a Picard and a Borg is a horror story, and this is no exception. That section was excellent. Then the story moves on to the big, doomed fleet battle. Considering the author, the combat scenes did not seem all that good. Also, perhaps I have role-playing games and ongoing campaigns too much on my mind right now, but when the author eliminated so many known characters, my main feeling was that he was limiting the possibilities for future Mirror writers. In addition, killing off established characters works well as a sudden shock, but not in a mass. All in all, this story was good, but not great, and not the equal of the other two.

The book's first story, Age of the Empress, begins right after the conclusion of In A Mirror Darkly. It is a fast-paced action story. The situation is fluid, even chaotic. Whenever two of the main characters meet, you can never be sure if they are going to try and kill each other or become allies. It is very well written in all aspects, and does a great job showing how, in this dark setting, people that want to kill each other can cooperate in the long term. It is a very entertaining story and really establishes the setting of the Terran Empire.

The second story needed that establishment, as that is one of the few things the story lacked. The author, despite all the details he gives, also seems to assume that readers have seen the original Mirror, Mirror episode. David Mack was given the awesome task of telling us exactly how Mirror Spock reformed the Terran Empire and caused its downfall, and he has achieved it spectacularly. Spock immediately and publicly begins to establish his Imperial policy of diplomacy and the renunciation of aggression, while amassing personal power through ruthless disposal of opposition and the resulting terror. The story is told in episodic format. The general writing is excellent, as is the choice of which events to summarise, and which events to show us as they happen. Throughout, the author sustains that feeling of very dark means in the name of a good end. To my mind, the Empire is changed a little too radically over too short a time, and Spock becomes too utterly certain that events a century in the future will unfold exactly as he has calculated, especially since events nearly go off his course in the present. Those are very minor points about a terrific story.

It feels like a long time since I read a new Trek book that I could recommend without hesitation. If you're a fan of the Mirror Universe, or just quality Trek in general, the only reason not to buy this is imminent bankruptcy - or living by the Mirror Universe's ideals and suckering someone else into paying for it, of course.

GREAT!.......2007-04-22

I love this book! Finally, an in-depth look into the infamous "mirror universe" of the STARTREK lore.

In this tome we meet the mirror versions of Shran, T'Pau, T'Prynn (from the STAR TREK original novel series "Vanguard") Saavik, Sarek, Valeris, Xon (the character that was supposed to have replaced Spock when the TV series STAR TREK: The Next Phase" was to have ocurred), Picard, Vash, Selar, and many, many others (we even FINALLY get to see the mirror Borg!).

There MUST be a a new tome released as each story (especially ENTERPRISE) begs for a sequel. MORE, PLEASE!

I am now reading the second part of this series "Obsidian Alliances" and am enjoying it just as much as "Glass Empires".

Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever

Average customer rating:

Fantastic Voyage?
Very good book!
Watershed book for radical life extension
read it, then continue with your own research
The Bible of Nutrition

Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever
Ray Kurzweil , and Terry Grossman
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452286670

Amazon.com

The idea behind Kurzweil and Grossman's Fantastic Voyage is that if you can make it through the next 50 years, you might become immortal. How will that be possible? Through some rather science fictional steps, it turns out, including taking advantage of the latest in biotechnological breakthroughs and not-yet-invented nanotechnology. Is all this longing for immortality driven by an obsession with youth or a fear of death? Readers can judge for themselves, as both Kurzweil and Grossman reveal the personal histories that led them to develop this plan. Fantastic Voyage is written in an easy-to-understand tone, with lots of sidebars giving examples of what the future holds for medicine and health. Whether or not you think that science will find a way to keep our bodies or our disembodied minds alive forever, this book is full of diet and lifestyle tips. For instance, the authors suggest carefully controlling the body's overall pH at an alkaline level, meditating, eating a diet composed mostly of vegetables and protein, and taking loads of supplements (Kurzweil downs about 250 pills each day). The dietary options presented here will mostly only be practical for people whose income levels can support buying organic produce, fresh fish and meat, and top-shelf supplements. The authors cavalierly state that we are living in a "time of abundance," but it seems likely that most who are able to follow this regimen will be Americans of a fairly high socioeconomic class. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

Tap today's technological breakthroughs to live longer and better.

Startling discoveries in the areas of genomics, biotechnology, and nanotechnology occur practically every day. The rewards of this research, some of it as spectacular as science fiction, are practically in our grasp. Fantastic Voyage shows us how we can use these new technologies to live longer than previously imaginable.

The authors take the reader on a journey to undreamed-of vitality with a comprehensive investigation into the cutting-edge science regarding diet, supplementation, genetics, detoxification, and the hormones involved with aging and youth. By following their program, which includes such simple recommendations as eating a balanced, low- glycemic-index diet, and taking powerful anti-aging nutritional supplements, anyone will be able to add years of healthy, active life.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Voyage?.......2007-05-13

Hmm. Interesting, but im not sure about all of it. Worth reading if it improves ones health though.

Very good book!.......2007-05-06

I really liked this book, its a good introduction into the subject. I recommend it!

Watershed book for radical life extension.......2007-04-08

A review of Fantastic Voyage appeared in my Oakland (Oakland County, Michigan) Press early in 2005. As a longtime enthusiastic advocate--though not necessarily the most ardent practitioner--of life extension technology, I was ecstatic!

Here was a book about radical life-extension appearing in a ho-hum review geared to (what some say is) the cultural-literary wasteland of Detroit suburbia. The vitalist movement had just achieved a major breakthrough into common humanity... at least the branch of common humanity who reads.

Note: Terminology is still a bit tenuous in this transhumanist era we're coming upon. But a vitalist is sort of a practical immortalist, someone who wants to extend life (with youthfulness and vigor) indefinitely, and generally thinks it can be accomplished in our natural lifetimes.

I'll use the term vitalist to identify the movement Kurzweil, Grossman, and many others are pushing. The significance of their book is enormous: Just as Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw (with Life Extension: A practical, scientific approach (1982)) were to health supplements, Kurzweil and Grossman are to the universal prospect of living well for a long time.

The authors break down our pursuit of effective vigorous immortality into three phases:

* Bridge 1: Ray and Terry's Longevity Program: present-day
nutrition, exercise, and wellness strategies that can get you
to the next bridge.

* Bridge 2: The biotechnology bridge, where we learn how to
turn off the bad genes and turn on the good ones, and
figure out the biochemical clues for keeping body and mind
the best.

* Bridge 3: What they refer to as the nanotechnology-AI
(Artificial Intelligence) revolution, where we can rebuild our
bodies and brains at the molecular level.

The prediction: generally effective Bridge 2 vitalist technologies begin 2010, with the beginnings of Bridge 3 technologies in 2020... with full flowering of those technologies a decade following those inception points.

...

For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]

Brian Wright
Copyright 2007

read it, then continue with your own research.......2007-04-03

I love this book. Inwardly, I laugh at Ray Kurzweil for including an endosement from Dean Ornish in a book that focusing on controlling blood sugar by eating low carb and including enough fat, but it is great nonetheless. The book is very positive and contains a lot of practical suggestions. It also presents some complex topics very well.

The one real flaw in the authors' approach is that it contains no sense of proportion. For example, in the seciton on environmental toxicity, it advises that you not shower with chlorinated water, but, in the section on exercise, it advises lap swimming as great exercise... well, if your 15 minute shower has too much chlorine, you can't get in a pool for 2 hours every day!!

The other problem with the book is that new research is coming out so fast now that the book must be out of date by now. But I think it's a great start anyhow.

The Bible of Nutrition.......2007-02-19

This is actually the 2nd copy of this book I've owned. The first left me to live with a friend.

I look at this book as a fantastic time saver. Instead of reading hundreds of scientific reviews to find out the latest scientific information is available in nutrition, I leave that up to Ray, and 99% of the time he's right on the mark.

I'm a bit suspicious about his "healthy alkaline water" thing, as I don't see the scientific research backing him up on this point. I know Tony Robbins is very enthusiastic about that...but Tony's research is suspect too... so I'd leave that to other readers to decide what they think about that.

The rest is brilliant, "must know" knowledge for anyone who wants to live a long life.

People who like this book, will likely also be interested in "NO More Heart Disease: How Nitric Oxide Can Prevent--Even Reverse-- Heart Disease and Stroke" - Louis Ignarro. One warning - if you play with L-Arginine, read the research and don't use it unless you know what you're doing and read enough to know where it can actually help you and where it's being sold as a panacea.

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