Cien años de soledad: Edición conmemorativa (The 40th Anniversary Edition)

Product Description

The Real Academia Española celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Garcia Marquez s masterpiece in this beautiful commemorative edition. Prologues by Carlos Fuentes, Alvaro Mutis, Mario Vargas Llosa and other intellectuals. One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. -New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Maravilloso!.......2007-08-29

Inicia la historia con la boda de Ursula Iguaran y Jose Arcadio Buendia, la busqueda de un pueblo ideal donde vivir, la angustia de la espera de los hijos, angustia debido a la supersticion ya que eran primos y les habian dicho que sus hijos podrian nacer con cola de cerdo!...

Una historia completamente llena de cultura latinoamericana, donde la supersticion, hechiceria, leyendas, herencias, costumbres y etc's no fallan. Esta edicion viene acompañada entre otras cosas de un arbol genealogico que te es de gran ayuda, ya que despues de algunas generaciones de Jose Arcadios y Aurelianos.. pues es sabio recurrir a el.

Siempre he admirado la manera tan descriptiva de Garcia Marquez, pero con este titulo desde la primera persona hasta la ultima, arboles, esquinas y lo que gusten nombrar a todo se le otorga una historia, es un maestro!

Deception.......2007-08-25

I had a deception with this novel and this author. I thought it was first of all more organized in his thoughts, second, the theme was not one that lead to any valuable thought or of value to society, except just an invention of his imagination, which seems very convoluted. I read the one he wrote about the coronel did not have any answer or something like that, and that one I liked. But I thought this was his best novel, and I was far wrong. Gloria

An over-rated Nobel laureate.......2007-07-03

I read Spanish-language books to try to improve my Spanish vocabulary and reading ability. I had already read this author's "Putas tristes", and his autobiography, "Vivir para contarla". In the latter book García mentioned that he had read Romulo Gallegos when he was young. The latter's book, "Dóña Bárbara", which truly IS a classic of Latin American writing. I found García's book to have the same theme ("the struggle between landowners and peasants in L.A.), and even the style, to be essentially the same. Many other Latin authors, such as Isabel Allende, seem to also use the same plagiaristic ploy. Another thing annoying about García is his self-admitted tendency to employ outrageous exagerations with a straight face. In one episode of "Cien años" he describes a man so strong he carries a store counter from a store out into the street, and it too eleven men to get it back in. Come on now!!

One of my favourite books in a wonderful edition.......2007-07-01

I first read Cien años de soledad during my last year of high school, and I have read it several times again since then. Everytime I read it, I remember the words of my literature professor, after he asked us to buy the book: " I envy you all so much, so much - he said- because nothing compares to the feeling of reading Cien años for the first time. I wish I could feel like that again." He was right.

This is a magical book, and this anniversary edition one that deserves a place in the library of all those who love Gabo.

One hundred years of pleasure.......2007-06-13

Esta nueva edicion conmemorativa a cargo de la Real Academia Espanola en conjuncion con la Asociacion de academias de la lengua espanola pone en manos del lector la novela de Garcia Marquez consagrada ya como un clasico de la literatura universal. Aunque esta edicion tiene el merito de compilar una serie de ensayos de escritores de la talla de Carlos Fuentes, Vargas Llosa, Alvaro Mutis, Claudio Guillen, entre otros; una extensa bibliografia y un utilisimo glosario, el lector que se inicia en esta obra deberia complementar su lectura con la insuperable edicion critica de Catedra que trae, ademas, notas a pie de paginas, ausente desgraciadamente en la presente edicion. De todas maneras esta es una edicion muy cuidada que limpia las asperezas, erratas y expresiones dudosas de previas ediciones.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Average customer rating:

a great overview
Unputdownable
Excellent insight into the latest research
Fascinating but flawed
Great history, great archeology, great read

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Charles C. Mann
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1400032059
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Amazon.com

1491 is not so much the story of a year, as of what that year stands for: the long-debated (and often-dismissed) question of what human civilization in the Americas was like before the Europeans crashed the party. The history books most Americans were (and still are) raised on describe the continents before Columbus as a vast, underused territory, sparsely populated by primitives whose cultures would inevitably bow before the advanced technologies of the Europeans. For decades, though, among the archaeologists, anthropologists, paleolinguists, and others whose discoveries Charles C. Mann brings together in 1491, different stories have been emerging. Among the revelations: the first Americans may not have come over the Bering land bridge around 12,000 B.C. but by boat along the Pacific coast 10 or even 20 thousand years earlier; the Americas were a far more urban, more populated, and more technologically advanced region than generally assumed; and the Indians, rather than living in static harmony with nature, radically engineered the landscape across the continents, to the point that even "timeless" natural features like the Amazon rainforest can be seen as products of human intervention.

Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates is necessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretation and precise scientific measurements that often end up being radically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of his eye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: the stories of early American-European contact. To many of those who were there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting of equals than one of natural domination. And those who came later and found an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mann argues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchanging state of the native American, but the evidence of a sudden calamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic in human history, the smallpox and other diseases introduced inadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, which swept through the Americas faster than the explorers who brought it, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only a shadow of the thriving cultures that it had sustained for centuries before. --Tom Nissley

A 1491 Timeline

Europe and Asia

Dates

The Americas

25000-35000 B.C.

Time of paleo-Indian migration to Americas from Siberia, according to genetic evidence. Groups likely traveled across the Pacific in boats.

Wheat and barley grown from wild ancestors in Sumer.

6000

5000

In what many scientists regard as humankind's first and greatest feat of genetic engineering, Indians in southern Mexico systematically breed maize (corn) from dissimilar ancestor species.

First cities established in Sumer.

4000

3000

The Americas' first urban complex, in coastal Peru, of at least 30 closely packed cities, each centered around large pyramid-like structures

Great Pyramid at Giza

2650

First clear evidence of Olmec use of zero--an invention, widely described as the most important mathematical discovery ever made, which did not occur in Eurasia until about 600 A.D., in India (zero was not introduced to Europe until the 1200s and not widely used until the 1700s)

800-840 A.D.

Sudden collapse of most central Maya cities in the face of severe drought and lengthy war

Vikings briefly establish first European settlements in North America.

1000

Reconstruction of Cahokia, c. 1250 A.D.*

Abrupt rise of Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, the largest city north of the Rio Grande. Population estimates vary from at least 15,000 to 100,000.

Black Death devastates Europe.

1347-1351

1398

Birth of Tlacaélel, the brilliant Mexican strategist behind the Triple Alliance (also known as the Aztec empire), which within decades controls central Mexico, then the most densely settled place on Earth.

The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean.

1492

The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean.

Syphilis apparently brought to Europe by Columbus's returning crew.

1493

Ferdinand Magellan departs from Spain on around-the-world voyage.

1519

Sixteenth-century Mexica drawing of the effects of smallpox**

Cortes driven from Tenochtitlán, capital of the Triple Alliance, and then gains victory as smallpox, a European disease never before seen in the Americas, kills at least one of three in the empire.

1525-1533

The smallpox epidemic sweeps into Peru, killing as much as half the population of the Inka empire and opening the door to conquest by Spanish forces led by Pizarro.

1617

Huge areas of New England nearly depopulated by epidemic brought by shipwrecked French sailors.

English Pilgrims arrive at Patuxet, an Indian village emptied by disease, and survive on stored Indian food, renaming the village Plymouth.

1620

*Courtesy Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Ill., painting by Michael Hampshire. **Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, N.M. (Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España, 1547-77).

Book Description

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

Customer Reviews:

a great overview.......2007-10-13

This is a great overview of early American cultures, and the various ways in which they shaped their environments. It is not an encyclopedia of Native American cultures, but uses specific examples to support the notion that the original inhabitants of our country have been misunderstood as lacking in initiative and expertise in manipulating the North American landscape... i.e. it debunks the "Eden" myth. Very well written and entertaining as well as informative.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a more clear view of America before the arrival of Europeans.

Unputdownable.......2007-09-26

I found this book extremely enjoyable. It contains a wealth of knowledge about Native American cultures in N. and S. America; findings that are apparently well-known in academic circles, but which have remained largely unreported and unknown to mainstream audiences. Mr. Mann clearly admires much about the achievements of these pre-Columbus civilizations, and seeks to redress "common" misconceptions that most Westerners have about "primitive, savage" Indian life. I am glad I read this book. I learned a great deal from this book, and was fascinated by the subject matter.

This book is also beautifully written, and makes the subject matter accessible to laypeople. I was expecting it to be readable buy dry, but it was instead a book that just compelled me to keep turning pages. It helps to bring these ancient civilizations to life, talks frankly about the impact of European colonization on these civilizations, and challenges the reader to set aside his/her textbook knowledge and consider seeing Native Americans in an all new light.

Every now and then a book comes out that makes science "sexy." For example, "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, or "Krakatoa" by Simon Winchester. To me, this is one of those books. It's both revealing and entertaining. "1491" was just a terrific read - thought provoking, compelling, entertaining, well researched. I even read all the appendices, and that's saying something.

I highly recommend this book.

Excellent insight into the latest research.......2007-09-25

Please don't confuse this excellent book with the poorly researched fantasy "1421: The Year China Discovered America." 1491 is an extremely well researched and documented look into the latest archaelogical findings and theories pertaining to life in North and South America prior to Columbus's landing.

Mann does an excellent job explaining the accuracies and flaws of the multitude of theories surrounding this topic. As he simply exposes the debates and doesn't attempt to resolve them himself, he provides an illustrative lesson that one should not become too entrenched with any particular theory on the pre-history of man as each theory is eventually overturned or modified by new findings.

His writing style seems similar to Jared Diamond. Mann, however, makes his points without getting bogged down in the excruciating details which makes this book much more readable than Guns, Germs, and Steel or Collapse (both of which were excellent books as well). With over 100 pages of notes and references he provides the reader with the necessary information for them to conduct their own level of research based upon their desires.

Fascinating but flawed.......2007-09-23

Henry Ford said that all history was bunk, and he had not even read 1491! What a shock to find that the population of the new world in 1491 was greater than that of the old world! That the natives, said to be long-term farmers, had shaped the landscape to suit themselves, that buffalo roamed in small numbers until old world diseases killed off most (90%) of the native tribes and thus allowed the huge herds to form. What a shock to find that many north American tribes considered themselves libertarian compared with the hierarchy bound Europeans. Yet more than enough evidence is given from old writings long ignored, and new archeological finds.

This is all fast and entertaining reading. There are many maps to help explanations, citations by page number, and an index. Mann traveled to several of the archeological sites.

On the downside, Mann talked of the "balanced diet" as though its desirability has been proven, and does not say how maize provided this "balance" (p18). The battle between Hernán Cortés's men and the Mexica was said to have been described as the costliest battle in history with 100,000 casualties (not deaths), (p129). Why no mention of Verdun in WWI with a million deaths and Stalingrad in WWII with a million deaths? Is a mammoth's molar really the size of a bowling ball? (p152) Mann wrote of winter on the Amazon river. I thought equatorial areas had wet and dry seasons, not the 4 seasons observed far from the equator (pp301,305).

But there is another, bigger fly in the ointment. Mann accepts the carbon dioxide from combustion hypothesis of global warming (pp300,308). Solar cycles of changing heat output and the sun's influence on cosmic ray effects on the Earth's clouds determine climate, not CO2 levels. [Jaworowski Z, Solar cycles, not CO2, determine climate, 21st Century Science and Technology, Winter 2003-2004, pp52-65. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Jaworowski or at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] According to Laurence Hecht, Editor of 21st Century Science & Technology: "Of all the hypotheses [on Earth climate], that of human-produced carbon dioxide as the forcing mechanism for warming is the most deeply and extensively studied, and by far the most discredited. No other hypothesis rests on such flagrant and lying disrepect for data as...on the falsification of the historical CO2 record." [Hecht L, What Really Causes Climate Change? EIR Science, 2 Mar 07, pp6-9. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] The other big falsification in this hypothesis, skyrocketing temperatures in the last 50 years to levels not seen in 1300 years, is exemplified by the temperature graph of Michael Mann, which was shown to be a fraud, not just a mistake [McIntyre, S., McKitrick, R. (2005). Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L03710; doi:10.1029/2004GL021750], [Soon, W., Baliunas, S. (2003). Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years. Climate Research, 23, 89-110].

So for historical controversies Charles C. Mann appeared to do balanced work, with opposing ideas neatly cited. But by failing to look up the "other side" on global warming, he missed effects of giant volcanic eruptions and solar output changes on temperature. The Roman era warming and Medieval Climate Optimum, both with temperatures higher than now and the Little Ice Age (1500-1800) were ignored, thus their effects on migration and population sizes was missed. Now it seems that the crop failures of the Little Ice Age were a main reason for northern Europeans to try to move to a warmer climate.

As always with with non-fiction, some errors make the entire work suspicious. Still a worthwhile book with its limitations in mind.

Great history, great archeology, great read.......2007-09-23

I love fresh looks on old topics. This book delivers on that theme. As a history teacher I find the same mundane, lopsided, and inaccurate truths presented in textbooks about this era time and time again. Mann's book is a counterweight to that miseducation and shed's light on often under appreciated and misrepresented Native American societies.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)

Average customer rating:

How NOT to walk the Appalachian Trail
Could not put it down
How not to discover the Appalachian Trail
A Walk in the Woods
Super read for anyone who wants to hike those miles

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)
Bill Bryson
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767902521
Release Date: 1999-05-04

Amazon.com

Bill Bryson has made a living out of traveling and then writing about it. In The Lost Continent he re-created the road trips of his childhood; in Neither Here nor There he retraced the route he followed as a young backpacker traversing Europe. When this American transplant to Britain decided to return home, he made a farewell walking tour of the British countryside and produced Notes from a Small Island. Once back on American soil and safely settled in New Hampshire, Bryson once again hears the siren call of the open road--only this time it's a trail. The Appalachian Trail, to be exact. In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin.

If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape, middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created it, and the places it passes through. Whether you plan to make a trip like this one yourself one day or only care to read about it, A Walk in the Woods is a great way to spend an afternoon. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes--and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.

For a start there's the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. Despite Katz's overwhelming desire to find cozy restaurants, he and Bryson eventually settle into their stride, and while on the trail they meet a bizarre assortment of hilarious characters. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature.

Customer Reviews:

How NOT to walk the Appalachian Trail.......2007-10-19

I've been a Bryson fan since a British friend gave me a copy of "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America" years ago -- what, I wonder, was his point??

"A Walk in the Woods" is more entertaining if you've read "Notes from a Small Island" (1997). In that book, Bryson takes a walking trip around Britain, his home of nearly 20 years, before returning to live in the States. When you walk around Britain, you can take the train on the hard bits and have a pub meal and bed every night if you like.

The irony, then, of Bryson comparing the Appalachian Trail to that experience!

"A Walk in the Woods" is a laughing-out-loud book but as usual with Bryson, his writing is well researched and the informative parts are presented in an offbeat and personal way -- without detracting from their clarity. His reconnection with American social and environmental history is well presented

This book is an object lesson on how NOT to undertake a project like the AT -- yet it almost makes you believe you could do it! Or at least that you owe it to yourself to try.

Could not put it down.......2007-10-15

I have just recently started hiking and camping myself only really having any experience in the woods for no more than a few years. I found this book to read out like a fantasy of mine. Hiking in the middle of nowhere, No modern tools or advantages available to you. But it brought some realism to the dream. I felt I was there enjoying and suffering right with them. I want to thank Bill Bryson for writing this book and living the adventure.
If you enjoy the outdoors but cannot bare to take on the AT. Then get this book take a small hike to the top of of a cliff where the view is abundant, Lay out in some shade with a cool summer breeze and began your journey on the AT with Bill Bryson.

How not to discover the Appalachian Trail.......2007-10-13

This book has obviously appealed to many readers. Some seem to be attracted by the humour, others by the subject matter and many by the writing skills of the author himself. There are some interesting factoids buried in this book, and some descriptive passages were terrific.

This is the first of Mr Bryson's books that I have not enjoyed. The antics of Messrs Bryson and Katz, two middle-aged, ego-centric and totally underprepared hikers, irritated me enormously.

I am glad that this is not the first of Mr Bryson's books I have read. If it was, it would almost certainly be the last.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A Walk in the Woods.......2007-10-08

This is a book about a treacherous hike through a treacherous trail. When the author decides to take a hike on the Appalachian Trail, 2,200 miles of wilderness, who's a better choice to take with him than trusty old Katz... who was completely out of shape, had gone to rehab, and he hadn't seen in 25 years. From Bryson's adventure getting the equipment, to Katz's desperateness while trying to find a female, this is a great book cover to cover, and all the pages in between.

Several people, including me, have gone camping. So, if you have, imagine it, except for 6 months, without good campsites, and nonstop hiking all day long with massive packs on. Doesn't sound to fun, does it? I think Bryson did a great job making his torture seem comical. It's a hilarious book, the only funny nonfiction book I've ever read, which also causes it to be the only nonfiction I've ever enjoyed. But, as good as it is, while reading it I began to think it was sad. Here's why- it's nonfiction.

Super read for anyone who wants to hike those miles.......2007-10-06

A excellent read for any person just might have the thought buried deep in the back of their mind..walking that long long trail..bring tissue and laugh until you cry.

The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch"

Average customer rating:

The Definitive Navigation Manual
The Definitive Marine Navigation Reference
Timeless Wisdom
A must for all who love the sea
The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch"

The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch"
Nathaniel Bowditch , and National Imagery and Mapping Agency
Manufacturer: Paradise Cay Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0939837544

Book Description

This is a new edition of The American Practical Navigator, "Bowditch," offered by Celestaire and Paradise Cay Publications. This new edition is the most recent update of Bowditch, the definitive work on navigation.

Nathanial Bowditch first published this encyclopedic work in 1802. During the last two centuries over 75 editions, almost 1,000,000 copies, of Bowditch have been published by the US Government. It has lived because it has combined the best technologies of each generation of navigator. This new Bicentennial Edition includes the latest advances in electronic navigation and digital charting technology. It also covers nonelectronic navigation such as celestial, plotting and dead reckoning. Bowditch contains numerous tables which have been valued for years by practicing navigators.

Bowditch is carried on the bridge of every U.S. Navy ship and should be the mainstay of any serious navigator's library. Paradise Cay and Celestaire's commercial edition of Bowditch is a complete copy of the latest Government edition.

Customer Reviews:

The Definitive Navigation Manual.......2007-05-27

For over two centuries Nathaniel Bowditch's "American Practical Navigator" has trained sailors from all maritime services the basics (and then some) of navigation. Both comprehensive and surprisingly engaging, Bowditch is a must read for anyone serious about spending time at sea. As a companion, consider also purchasing the "Chapman Piloting & Seamanship"Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 65th Edition (Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling). Taken together, these two manuals build a foundation for a life time of safe and savvy boating.

The Definitive Marine Navigation Reference.......2007-05-12

What's to say? Bowditch is the best. Even though The American Practical Navigator is now on Line in PDF, for free, the Hardcopy of this reference book is essential. It is filled with information that would excite anyone interested in navigation. The descriptions of physical objects, sextants, for example, are beautiful. It is one of the finest and most error-free technical reference book ever printed. It is on par with Charles Evans' "Bibliography of American Books" (13 volumes) in which no one has ever found a single mistake.

Timeless Wisdom .......2007-04-07

If you love the sea and have an interest in navigation this is a must have. An incredibly vast amount of information and history in one volume. The significance of the original work is shown by the near reverence for this frequently updated title. As a reference on marine navigation it is head and shoulders above the rest. One of the joys of having a copy on the bookshelf is just opening it to a random topic.

As others have noted the book is available on the internet. However, the there's no substitute for having a real copy and the price is far below that quoted by some posters.

Sadly gps has replaced basic navigation skills among many who fly and sail with a resulting dependence that often masks a lack of situational awareness. For those whose sailing is recreational dependence on gps navigation removes one of the joys that comes from the exercise of competency in basic navigation skills.

Highly recommended.

A must for all who love the sea.......2007-03-01

30 years in the Navy, 13 at sea. This is the bible for all true Navy persons. I recall hours reading it, and endeavoring to absorb the wisdom of the sea as recounted by generations of those before me.

As a Commanding Officer I would put notes in the Night Orders which would cause the watchstnders to research during quiet time, usually they could find the answers in Bowditch.

A real gem, I still keep my copy close to read, when the lack of salt air causes me to feel remorse for my retired life.

Rok Kedney
CDR USN (ret)

The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch".......2007-02-20

I was pleased with the material. The Practical Navigator is more focused on advanced piloting, electronic and celestial navigation than material in the basic Chapman Piloting and Seamanship. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation of piloting and navigation, I would suggest the Practical Navigator.

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Average customer rating:

What an Adventure
river of doubt
A Gripping Tale of Men of Character
Awesome
They Don't Make Presidents Like this Anymore...

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
Candice Millard
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0767913736
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Book Description

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.

From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.

Customer Reviews:

What an Adventure.......2007-10-18

What a great book. It is amazing to me that in the face of all the danger and near death experiences, these men continued to behave in the most civilized manor. Very inspiring for me.

river of doubt.......2007-10-06

This book was great, if you like adventure, exploration, or teddy roosevelt this is the book for you.
not boaring at all this book is awsome

A Gripping Tale of Men of Character.......2007-09-21

Oh, for a President who had even one tenth of the character and integrity of the Teddy Roosevelt portrayed in this book. This is a real-life version of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but the central figure never loses his sense of dedication and honor. Although there is plenty of suspense, even horror, in the story, I found it to be ultimately quite inspiring.

Awesome.......2007-09-20

This book went into so much detail about TR's expedition in Brazil that is hardly mentioned in other books on his life. And what a story it is! I heartily recommend it to anyone.

They Don't Make Presidents Like this Anymore..........2007-09-20

And that's not a statement of partisan politics, but it does say a lot about leadership. Volumes have been written about Theodore Roosevelt, the soldier, the statesman, the adventurer, and the president, but if there is a single book that captures the vitality, the determination, and the indomitable spirit of this great American, it is "The River of Doubt." Former National Geographic writer and editor Candice Miller pulls no punches and leaves no stone unturned in spinning this vibrant and suspense-packed tale of risk and discovery cutting through the heart of the Amazonian jungle on an uncharted Brazilian river. Miller brings the Amazon to life in all its bloody glory, an unfathomably dangerous place where even the frogs are deadly, where schools of piranhas can turn an ox - or a man - to a skeleton in minutes, a place where, despite caymans and poison dart-wielding natives, it is the insects - insects of all types and descriptions - that pose the greatest risk.

This is an epic journey facing not only the challenges of a wild river cascading over rapids and waterfalls through an impenetrable jungle, but also treachery and even murder. Roosevelt and expedition co-lead Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, an officer of the Brazilian military and renowned Amazon explorer, find themselves surprisingly ill-equipped for their voyage through one of the planets most inhospitable regions, and ironically are soon near starvation in a green hell that while teaming with life, food is stubbornly unattainable. Meanwhile, it is a poignant tale of the bond between father and son, as Roosevelt and second son Kermit alternately sacrifice and suffer for each other while proudly denying emotion. This is one of those stories that, after weeks of terror, when Roosevelt and the tattered remains of his party emerge feverish from malaria and near starvation, you'll ask, "why haven't I heard about this before now."

Were this fiction, it would strain the bounds of credibility. But that this is the story of a former President of the United States is truly staggering. A remarkable achievement, "The River of Doubt" is a must read, illuminating a fascinating slice of world history in the twilight of the age of exploration while providing an intimate peak into the unparalleled character of Theodore Roosevelt. Bully!

The South Beach Diet Dining Guide: Your Reference Guide to Restaurants Across America

Average customer rating:

Doesn't feel like a diet at all...
not worth it
A GUIDE
South Beach Diet is Now Even Easier!
Handy book

The South Beach Diet Dining Guide: Your Reference Guide to Restaurants Across America
Arthur Agatston
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1594863601
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide has sold nearly five million copies and has continuously topped national bestseller lists. An essential tool for success on the South Beach Diet, the guide features a user-friendly format, an expansive list of foods, FAQs organized by phase and designed to answer dieters most common questions, as well as the most up-to-the-minute information on nutrition and healthy eating. The convenient take-along size makes The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide a perfect grocery shopping companion.

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't feel like a diet at all..........2007-03-25

A supplement to the South Beach diet, this list of chain restaurants and their menus helps make the South Beach plan not feel like a diet at all

not worth it.......2007-02-07

unless you live in a big city with lots of chain restaurants it is pretty usless. Listings are by chain not food type.

A GUIDE.......2006-07-05

This is a great guide if you can stick to it. It contains over 200 pages of restaurants across the map. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Applebee's Grill and Bar and Pizza Hut just to name a few. You just have to make sure you remember what phase you are on before selecting your menu choices and this guide will let you know what food you can have in your phase. This is a good reference guide when you go out to eat. I started by taking the book with me then I just started writing down things that I might enjoy from the restaurant that I was going to. I think for long-term weight loss, you have to be mentally prepared to commit to a change of life. You should also research as many diet plans as you can, this way you can find out what works for YOU, and not what works for majority of people. You have to see yourself as a unique individual and remember; what works for someone else may not work for you. I gave this book 3 stars because unless you are clear of how the South Beach Diet works you may get frustrated with this guide.

South Beach Diet is Now Even Easier!.......2006-06-16

My husband and I gave South Beach a try, but we gave it up about a year ago. The recipes were just so time consuming and the ingredients seemed pricey. We did experience some wonderful results, though. Well, now that more microwave meals are available and meal replacement bars, as well as a 30-minute meals cookbook and this guide, we've decided to give it another try.

This guide is wonderful. It lists all of our favorite chain restaurants. We had no idea there was anything low-carb at one of our favorite mexican restuarants, but sure enough, they offer up fajitas in lettuce wraps. And even for local restaurants not listed, this book gives you ideas on what to look for on all menus. This great resource is just another way South Beach doesn't even feel like a diet.

Handy book.......2006-03-09

I love the South Beach diet since it is so similar to "normal" food that I grew up on but the restaurants are not. This guide shows you before you have to pick it from the menu what is available and what might be the best choices.

Average customer rating:

Peru, Lonely Planet Guide
Lonely Planet is one of my most important travel accessories
RIGHT ON LONELY PLANET PERU
Choose a different guide!
information needed

Lonely Planet Peru
Sara Benson , Paul Hellander , and Rafael Wlodarski
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1740597494

Book Description

Bike, hike and ride a scary cable car to Machu Picchu on one of five alternatives to the busy Inca Trail, p. 277. Glide past manatees, dolphins, monkeys and macaws in the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria, p.482. Swill a scoopful of chicha - saliva-fermented corn beer - to earn the respect of the locals, p.78. Descend into the narrow, hallucinatory underground chambers of the millennia-old ruins at Chavin de Huantar, p.415.

Three authors, 144 days of on-the-road research via planes, riverboats and dozens of death-defying bus rides. Dedicated Peru Outdoors chapter, plus expanded activities coverage throughout. Get the inside story on the Inca world from notes explorer and author Hugh Thomson. Content updated daily - visit lonelyplanet.com fro up-to-the-minute reviews and traveler suggestions.

Customer Reviews:

Peru, Lonely Planet Guide.......2007-09-10

As always, Lonely Planet gives you all of the information you need for a trip that meets and exceeds all of your expectations. This includes those little known corners of a place that are the most memorable.

Lonely Planet is one of my most important travel accessories.......2007-09-04

I am a seasoned backpacker and have been to places in the remote jungles of the Philippines to the cosmopolitan city of Sydney and back. I have tried using Fodors and Frommers, but Lonely Planet has by far served me better. I am not saying that I totally depend on Lonely Planet for all of my travel needs and resources, but I use it as an invaluable resource especially for transportation and maps. I have yet to use the Rough Guide Series or the Moon Series, so I cannot speak on their behalf.

RIGHT ON LONELY PLANET PERU.......2007-08-01

The LONELY PLANET guides are always my one stop source guide when I travel. It was my bible on my trip to PERU. There aren't a lot of travel guides written about Peru but LONELY PLANET had the information I needed. The series always provides insight into the history and culture of a country. Peru is tranforming itself into a tourist country. It's a work in progress so realize that information can become quickly outdated once a book is published. Restaurants open and close, details on museums change so keep that in mind with any travel guide. I traveled to several cities and found the LONELY PLANET guide to be immensely useful. Lonely Planet guides are great for people of all budgets. Hotels and restaurants are broken down into budget and expensive. You have the choice. I used LONELY PLANET PERU to make my hotel decisions and couldn't have been more pleased with their honest recommendations. If a place is shabby but has a great staff and location, Lonely Planet will tell it like it is. I found their suggestions and recommendations to be right on the mark.

Choose a different guide!.......2007-06-06

Lonely Planet typically does a decent job with its guide books and I have bought quite a few of them. However, Lonely Planet Peru does not make the cut. This book is awful. I just purchased the newest version (2007) for a trip to Peru in May 2007 and the information in the book was almost useless.

First, there is a lot of incorrect information. For example, we had our hearts set on eating at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet in Cusco, but when we got to the address, we found that the restaurant was out of business. Also discovered that many addresses are wrong. Descriptions of the bus trip from Puno, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia are misleading, and the overall organization of the book is confusing and very disappointing.

Do yourself a favor and look for a different Peru guide book.

information needed.......2007-05-21

I needed this to go to Peru to update my information for contacts, for hotels, for food, ect - thatnks

Rio for Partiers: The visual travel guide to Rio de Janeiro

Average customer rating:

Brilliantly honest
Best Travel Guide!
Great reference
Another day in paradise
Great read

Rio for Partiers: The visual travel guide to Rio de Janeiro
Cristiano Nogueira
Manufacturer: Solcat Editora
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 8589992012

Product Description

"Rio for Partiers" is a travel guide to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) designed for red blooded tourists. It outlines, in a step-by-step manner, all the must-see tours of Rio: relaxing tours (exactly where to go to unwind), adventure sports (who to contact for instructions), cultural (the essential tours) and rainy day ideas (what to do in Rio when it's raining). It also goes into detail on what every tourist must try: from snacks to tropical fruit juices, to Brazilian cuisine to local drinks. Thirdly, it lays out the nightlife scene, giving each day of the week the best option for: clubbing, live music, street parties or bars. Lastly, it offers dozens of tips on topics like safety, prices and how to deal with Brazilian boys and girls. But what makes Rio for Partiers even more desirable is that it can save the tourist lots of money: the publishers have partnered with sports instructors, bars and restaurants to get them to offer a discount or bonus to bearers of our book: just show the cupons in the back and you are automatically entitled to free drinks, discounts to daily rates and VIP entrance (no waiting in line) at the best bars and clubs. In short, Rio for Partiers tells you everything you need to know to have a blast in Rio.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliantly honest.......2007-10-10

This book isn't written like all the other boring guides. It's hip, it's cool, it's gritty, and by the time you're done reading it you feel like you just made a new friend in Rio. The author does a brilliant job of breaking the 3rd wall and really brings you to his marvelous city.

Best Travel Guide!.......2007-06-06

I went to Rio last year with a friend. She brought two travel guides, and I brought two travel guides. We quickly ditched all the other travel guides, but carried Rio for Partiers around every day we were in Rio.

This book tells you about things only locals know and other travel guides don't teach you. It explains (with pictures) food you will find on the beach and in the street cafes, complete with an estimated cost. The book also explains hand signals commonly used in Rio (very helpful), includes popular phrases, a map, tells you what to pack, what to wear, where to eat, were to go on day trips, and so much more.

The friends we stayed with (Americans) had been living in Rio for several months and said the advice was dead on. They also learned a thing or two from the book. You don't have to be young, or a partier to love this book. If you're going to Rio, you need this book!

Great reference.......2007-03-10

I used this book throughout my vacaction in Rio it was great. It gives you a breakdown by day of which clubs are good and type. It was like having your own tour guide. I showed it to a few locals whom didn't even know items that were in the book.

Another day in paradise.......2007-01-14

I've been traveling to Rio for business/vacations for several years now, and have become truly addicted to the culture, and the impossibly breathtaking views of the beaches and the women. Maybe not in that order. I picked up this guide when I was already a Copacabana veteran. It is concise and very helpful for the newbie venturing out into new territory. There is a serious culture barrier here with few people speaking English, so you are pretty much on your own without a running buddy. Yes, Rio is paradise beyond anything you can imagine, and yes, it can be very dangerous, particularly at night time. Your stuff will be stolen on the beach if left unattended. Pickpockets are everywhere. But when you read all the precautions, scams, and advice you will quickly acclimate to the environment.

This book is penned for a great short-time tourist experience, with plenty of sightseeing spots, restaurants, and nightclubs to visit. (club names change often). As far as the women, they are everywhere, and give you the great girlfriend experience that is near impossible to find back home. The language barrier makes it tough to pick up regular girls clubbing in tourist areas. Brazilians tend to hang together. My advice would be to listen to Pimsleur Portuguese tapes prior to your visit to get a rudimentary head start.

For short term visitors looking to save time and want to be smothered in women, for arranging the sure thing just pick up Brett Tate's The Hedonist: World Sex Guide - Single Male Erotic Vacations in Rio, Costa Rica, Thailand, Carribean and much more, which has extensive pay for play advice for Rio and 20 other cities. A word of warning to first time visitors. This place is mesmerizing. Don't surprised if you find yourself hugging a girlfriend at the airport, sobbing in broken childish gringo Portuguese "please don't make me leave." One more thing. You're not that special. She'll be hugging another sobbing guy at the airport in a few days.

Great read.......2007-01-10

and excellent restaurant suggestions here. This book was all over Rio de Janeiro so it's become very popular, it makes up for Frommers Guide to Rio by suggesting some excellent restaurants and entertainment ideas that Frommers fails to mention. A definitely plus for the Rio bound!!!

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Average customer rating:

Mayflower
Unraveling a Myth
Not what I was hoping for
Educational book
Not what I expected, but

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Nathaniel Philbrick
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0143111973
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Book Description

Nathaniel Philbrick became an internationally renowned author with his National Book Award- winning In the Heart of the Sea, hailed as “spellbinding” by Time magazine. In Mayflower, Philbrick casts his spell once again, giving us a fresh and extraordinarily vivid account of our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. From the Mayflower's arduous Atlantic crossing to the eruption of King Philip's War between colonists and natives decades later, Philbrick reveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims a fifty-five-year epic, at once tragic and heroic, that still resonates with us today.

Customer Reviews:

Mayflower.......2007-10-18

The history presented by Nathaniel Philbrick is very interesting and gives a person a more personable view of the Mayflower families and times (as well as of the Indians in New England). I found his information to be quite complete and filled in a lot of history that has not been published before that I know of.

Unraveling a Myth.......2007-10-18

" Wherever they first set foot on the American continent, it wasn't Plymouth, and it certainly wasn't Plymouth Rock. The first Thanksgiving (in 1621) was indeed attended by Indians as well as Pilgrims, but they didn't sit at the tidy table depicted in Victorian popular art; they "stood, squatted, or sat on the ground as they clustered around outdoor fires, where the deer and birds turned on wooden spits and where pottages -- stews into which varieties of meats and vegetables were thrown -- simmered invitingly."

- Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

How many of us grew up with myths about the Pilgrims and about the first Thanksgiving? We all believed that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat at a beautiful table laden with turkey, cranberries and all of the fixings. Not only was that not the case, they certainly didn't set foot on Plymouth Rock.

Philbrick puts these myths to rest. And he tells us about the beginning of our new country and what was the basis for its foundation. Our myths contained stories about Massasoit and Squanto, Bradford and Winslow and, of course, Miles Standish.

One of the major accounts in the book was that of the King Philip's War. We learned that it really did not have to be. Both sides could have developed solutions which respected the goodness in each other as well as the differences.

We learned about how the Indians were shipped off to foreign places during this war and were separated from all of their families and tribes....never to be heard from again (having been made slaves). Only a few ever made it back like Squanto, for example.

Philbrick discusses why the war occurred after so many years of peace and why the descendants of Massasoit and of Bradford and Winslow came to see things differently than their fathers; losing sight of the faith and the respect for the individual that their forefathers had long revered. They also blocked out the memory of how they all needed one another to survive.

The Mayflower Compact, we learn, is one document that laid the foundations for the country that America was to become. Yet, our forefathers had to live through a nightmare of a war (of their own making) where both sides suffered tremendously. It took many years after the war ended to ever recoup even a portion of what was lost.

Philbrick's book is a story of courage, community and war on both sides as well as a story of how our forefathers lost sight of what the Indians had done for their ancestors and their fathers and what was owed to these people. In doing so, they also lost sight of the need for diplomacy and how to work together to come up with solutions that would be good for both the settlers as well as the Indians.

MAYFLOWER has won many awards and the book deserves all of them. What I have come away with deals first with the myth. This was unraveled for me so that I could understand and gain knowledge of the facts of these early settlements. I learned what worked, what didn't work and why the peaceful compact fell apart. I also learned that we can gain a lot from understanding our past and that we do not have to make the same mistakes over again.

Nathaniel Philbrick has given us hope that our future does not always have to resemble our past. He wrote, "When violence and fear grip a society, there is an almost overpowering temptation to demonize the enemy. But some on both sides refused to succumb. They were the ones whose rambunctious and intrinsically rebellious faith in humanity finally brought the war to an end, and they are the heroes of this story."

During the times that we face now, our heroes can continue to be those leaders and citizens who strive to focus on the faith in humanity and celebrate our differences as well as our similarities finding solutions rather than reasons to turn away from each other.

Four Stars: B+ (Recommend Highly)

Bentley/2007
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Not what I was hoping for.......2007-10-13

I couldn't get into this book because it was very different from what I thought it would be. I expected "Mayflower" to be a detailed account of why the pilgrims decided to journey to America, and also a vivid description of what life aboard the Mayflower was actually like. The book did cover those things, but only for a few short pages. Most of the book is devoted to the history of Plymouth Colony and King Philip's War. Author Nataniel Philbrick does an excellent job of shooting down the myths many people believe about what the pilgrim settlement was actually like, but I was much more interested in reading about the actual Mayflower journey and was disappointed that so little information about that event was included in this 400+ page book. "Mayflower" should be called "King Philip's War" so readers know what they're getting into.

Educational book.......2007-09-26

This is a very informative, accurate writing of our history. More people should read and know the real history of our country.

Not what I expected, but.......2007-09-16

the book was still a captivating piece of literature. I read this directly after reading In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick, and was expecting the same type of story. That was not the case however. The title is a bit misleading in that one thinks they are going to be reading (or at least I did) a story of the journey. The subtitle should have cued me in. The book is about the struggle between the settlers and the natives more so than it is about the voyage to the new world. All that being said, I still loved the book. I gave the book four stars because I wish there was more about the actual voyage, and I think the title is a little misleading. All in all though, it is a superb piece of literature.

Dark Possession (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 15)

Average customer rating:

Very disappointed!
Dark Possession disappointing
Good book!!
MY CARPATHIAN EXPERIENCE!!
Worth the price if you by it used. A decent addition to the series.

Dark Possession (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 15)
Christine Feehan
Manufacturer: Berkley Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0425217094

Book Description

A Carpathian event-the new hardcover from the phenomenal New York Times bestselling author.

Christine Feehan returns to the sensual Carpathian world that has earned her a reputation as "the queen of paranormal romance" (USA Today) in a new novel of true love and the unnatural forces that could destroy it.

Dangerously close to becoming a vampire, Manolito De La Cruz has been called back to his Carpathian homeland-and has unexpectedly caught the scent of his destined lifemate, MaryAnn Delaney. MaryAnn is human and well aware of the aggressive instincts of Carpathian males. A counselor for battered women, MaryAnn has no room in her life for someone like Manolito. But when she goes to South America to offer guidance to a young woman, she has no idea of the trap awaiting her. For she's been lured there by Manolito, who has seductive plans for the irresistible human female.

Once there, she'll be his. Once his, she'll never be released. She is his dark possession.

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointed!.......2007-10-16

I love this series, but I was disappointed with Dark Possession. She devoted very little to the back ground of the characters, gave up more than 200 pages in the beginning to Manolito in the shadow world; which just droned on and on.

Dark Possession disappointing.......2007-10-13

Dark Possession (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 15

After having read all of the Dark Series, I was looking forward to reading this one very much. However, I find that having words inserted about a language that does not exist, and without a translation immediately available distracting and made it harder to stay focused on the story itself.

I also was disappointed that the book did not begin where it had left off, in the Carpathian Mountains. So much had happened there and now we are left to believe that the brothers just took their brother and brought him back to the Rain Forest and no story is there to tell us how it all took place?

It was also hard for me to understand how he is able to come and go in the shadow world so easily if his body is alive, but not always?

This story also seemed to run against all the others in that the Carpathian male would protect his lifemate above his own life, but then just leaves her to go back to the shadow world without ensuring her protection first.

I don't know, I was just disappointed in this novel, but love the Drake Series since each sister has unique gifts and qualities of their own so the books are each unique in their own way.

The Dark Series now seems to be Carpathian finds his lifemate, binds her to him, fights vampires, converts her then lives happily ever after with a lot of sex in between.

Hope the next one is better, but if not, it will be my last purchase of the Dark Series.

Thanks, Kay

Good book!!.......2007-10-12

I enjoyed this book because it moved the story of the Carpathians along. The reason it doesn't have 5 stars is because I feel to much was jammed in to short of a book to the detriment of the main couple. Also, a new reader would be left wondering about much of the backstory.

The main couples story seemed a bit rushed. A lot of people disliked MaryAnn because of her fashion conscious ways and I have no idea if the writer meant this but I took this as the way she had developed over the years to control/keep in check her "POWER". When one looks at what MaryAnn brings to the table I think she actually is one of the most powerful lifemates in that the conversion for Manolito and MaryAnn is a two way street with her giving her "POWER" to Manolito as well as receiving his gift of longevity. Manolito is just as old and just as dominant as the other heroes in the dark series but he is the first one that took the time to think about his actions and how they affected his lifemate. It didn't always stop him from doing or saying something stupid but at least he gave some thought to his words or actions instead of the usual "It is my right, she must submit, yada yada."

I really like this series and although I enjoy each new set of lifemates what keeps me interested is the mystery of how the Carpathians got where they are today and how they are going to recover. I can't wait for the next book because I want to know what they are going to do with the new information gained.

I do recommend this book to readers who like paranormal romances but I would not start the series with this one.

MY CARPATHIAN EXPERIENCE!!.......2007-10-11

MS. FEEHAN HAS DONE IT AGAIN...
I SO LOVED THIS CARPATHIAN STORY..(MANUEL DE LA CRUZ)I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT ADVENTURE WITH MS. FEEHAN...HOPEFULLY I WONT HAVE TOO LONG OF A WAIT...

Worth the price if you by it used. A decent addition to the series........2007-10-11

Dark Possession, while deviating only a little from the formula that has made Feehan's Carpathian series so successful, was better than her last couple full length novels. Personally, I prefer Feehan's short stories, because her characters tend to repeat themselves in her longer works and there was a bit of that here. But Dark Possesion didn't stick to the over used vampire hunter story line of the last few books. Instead we get insight into the underlying plot the bad guys are working toward. Also since Manolito de La Cruz has an interesting little problem to solve before claiming his life-mate and he cannot solve it without her help, we get much less of the macho rants than in previous books.

From the setup in Dark Celebration: A Carpathian Reunion (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 14), I expected a much darker relationship between Manolito and MaryAnn. He was so close to turning and had already plotted out luring MaryAnn to Brazil and then holding her captive until her could make her fully his. In fact, he stakes his initial claim without her knowledge or consent. But Manolito isn't doing much plotting at the start of the story. He came so close to dying from injuries sustained while saving Shea in the last book that only his link with MaryAnn allowed him to be mostly pulled back. Now he still has one foot in the shade world and is having a little trouble separating the two worlds and doesn't dare complete the binding for fear of dragging her into this other world. As for MaryAnn I was fully prepared not to like her with her, but it turns out that girly girly MaryAnn is much more than she seems. The times that Manolito tries to go all alpha on her, she knocks him on his butt, with psychic powers she doesn't even know she has. In fact in most of the attacks in this book, MaryAnn handles the enemy with nary a de la Cruz brother in sight, no matter the damage to her designer wardrobe and cool accessories.

While Dark Possession will not be replacing Dark Legend (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 7) as my favorite book in this series, it was still worth reading (even though I did find myself skimming over parts of the love scenes they just go on and on and on, neither of these two would be able to ever move again.) Also I thought that the new species Feehan added to this book was introduced in a very heavy handed way, it would have been more effective to let the old dead prince supply the knowledge that the "younger" Carpathians hadn't been aware of. Although the impact of the new race, could have major implications for the survivial of the Carpathian race should Feehan choose to exploit it. Now that there are plenty of used copies Dark Possession around and you don't have to pay the full hardback price, it is worth picking up used if you are a fan of the series.

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