Book Description
Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book.
But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble--and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone--or something--is stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself . . .
Customer Reviews:
Keeps getting better!.......2007-09-19
While I found Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) and Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) perfectly enjoyable, I hadn't yet decided whether the Dresden Files series would be on my "must read" list. I was hooked enough to give Grave Peril a try, and I'm sure glad I did!
Grave Peril puts less emphasis on the whole wizard-for-hire angle. Instead of responding to some random paranormal event, this time our hapless hero is being actively targeted by some big league bad guys. And unlike Fool Moon, which focused on one specific brand of supernatural foe, Grave Peril is absolutely packed with interesting characters, including vampires, a dragon, a Holy Knight, a body-snatching ghost, and Harry's faerie godmother! I haven't seen a cast like this since the Crimson series of graphic novels (which every Dresden fan would do well to check out).
The events in Grave Peril put Harry to the ultimate test, and not everyone walks away from this one unscathed. Harry's confrontations, particularly with the various members of the Vampire Courts as well as with his godmother, are the stuff of legends, and the way they are written is very cinematic. You can see these epic events unfold in your mind.
Butcher took the series to the next level with this book; giving readers a much better look at what makes Harry tick and introducing several supporting characters who are almost as interesting as Harry himself. I only hope this isn't the last we've seen of them.
The Spirit of Destruction.......2007-08-29
Grave Peril (2001) is the third urban fantasy in the Dresden Files series, following Fool Moon. In the previous volume, the renegade FBI agents were all killed and the hexanwolf belts were burned by Harry and Murphy. Susan's film of the death of the loup-garou went on the morning news and was shown for two days afterward before it vanished.
Tera was badly injured, but recovered when she converted to human form. The Alphas suffered few injuries and were soon ready for Harry to lead them on another crusade. Nonetheless, the whole situation left Dresden wondering whether some wizard was working in the shadows to cause these problems.
In this novel, Michael Carpenter and Harry have been responding to visitations by some rather powerful ghosts during the past two weeks. Michael is a Knight of the Cross, a Fist of God, carrying the blessed sword Amorachius. Tonight they banish the ghost of Agatha Hagglethorn from the Cook County Hospital nursery and the babies breathe easily again.
After this banishment, the police arrest both Harry and Michael for disturbing the peace and trespress and they impound the Blue Beetle. After an hour or so, Harry and Michael are released on bail. Charity Carpenter is less than pleased with Harry for getting her husband in trouble, but Susan Rodriguez just wants to know about the story.
It has been a long night, but the vampires are waiting when Harry and Susan reach his basement abode. Luckily, Kyle and Kelly Hamilton are delivering an invitation for Harry and guest to attend a reception of the Red Court for Bianca St. John. As the local representative of the White Council, Harry would be find it difficult to follow his own inclinations and skip the vampire affair entirely.
Then Michael shows up just before dawn. The day before, Harry had sent a client calling herself Lydia to Father Forthill at Saint Mary of the Angels to protect her from a life threatening situation. During the night, a very strong spirit had appeared and demanded that the girl come out. When she remained inside, the spirit had torn up the roses outside the door and trashed the vehicles parked in the lot. Sometime during the night, however, Lydia had unlocked the back door and left the church.
Later, Harry finds the girl in a late model van parked in an abandoned storefront. Then Kyle and Kelly show up and Dresden calls fire upon the vampires, accidentally cutting the support beams and setting the building on fire. The vampires get away with the girl and Harry barely gets out before the whole front of the building collapses.
In this story, Harry attends the Red Court reception, taking Michael with him in full knightly regalia. The invitation didn't say that he had to bring a guest of the other sex. One of the vampire attendees admires Michael's costume and touches it; the resulting shock sends him into convulsions. Thereafter, the vampires look, but don't touch.
The other outsider invitees are an odd lot. One is a Black vampire, one is a White vampire, and another is a dragon. Unhappily, Susan is also there, having forged a copy of Harry's invitation. She learns more than she wants to know about Red vampires at the affair.
This story puts Harry in a bind. He has to let the Red Court hurt his friends or start a war between the vampires and the White Council. Of course, Dresden does it the hard way.
Harry finds out who has been agitating the wall between the real world and Nevernever, letting spirits slip over and cause trouble. He helps Murphy by removing a nasty spell from a disabled veteran of Special Investigations. He also meets a spirit who is posing as himself and discovers the true identity of Lydia. Some nights it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.
As usual, Harry loses sleep, barely escapes death and worries about his friends. He chastises himself for not doing more, not being everywhere and other improbabilities. Dresden is really into self-blame.
Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of powerful ghosts, vampire parties, and overworked wizards.
-Arthur W. Jordin
The Heat Rises.......2007-08-07
In this, the third novel of the Dresden Files...we see the hero, Harry Dresden, come to life. This novel is a marked improvement over the first two. From the first novel, we see how human and vulnerable Harry is. He is tenacious and powerful but one can tell that in novels 1 and 2, he is still very naive and unskilled when it comes to people. The first two books were very enjoyable but more on a light level. There were intense scenes, but the temperatures of the stories are fairly cool and casual. In this novel however, the heat rises. Things become serious and deadly, pardon the pun. While so far (I've read up to book three thus far), I've enjoyed all of these stories, Grave Peril is the first that becomes a true nail biter. It is the first I've actually lost sleep over because I just...had...to...know...what...happened next. An interesting new character is also introduced in this new novel, adding spice and a new dimension. The wizard, Harry, also grows, both as a person and in his talent. While still a reckless idealist, things conspire to entwine him in love, life and death. I only refrained from giving this novel a five star rating due to the still somewhat annoying naive attitude of Harry, which does tend at times to make you want to pull your hair out and yell at the book. Nevertheless, Harry is a great character that you're sure to love. Jim Butcher, the author, is growing and becoming more comfortable in his skills and it's very easy to see. I'd highly recommend this third book in the series and look forward to reading the ones to come.
Dresden files.......2007-07-30
The reader was outstanding as was the ongoing story of Harry Dresden. I like all the supporting characters which add a clear uniqueness to the storylines.
Very Good .......2007-07-23
This is the book that started to improve the Dresden files in a major way the first two installments of the series were fine but suffered from a kind of villain of the week feel, there was no overall plan or agenda to the series.
With the third installment of the series all of that begins to change. Harry gets into serious trouble that are still have ramifications on the current Dresden Files that are published. Also a number of secondary characters are introduced that are not meant at the time to register with the reader. Later on in the series the characters that are introduced in this book will be woven back into the narrative very skillfully.
Book Description
Barcelona, 1945—A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax's other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author's identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing, Romantic and Mysterious.......2007-10-18
I rarely have time to read a book twice but will make an exception for this astonishing book. I became immersed in Spain and its past.
Engaging story, told well.......2007-10-10
I wasn't looking for deep thoughts, but for entertainment. This book delivers, an engaging tale spiced with hidden family histories, dark secrets, and a tragic hero. It finishes on an overly melodramatic note, building up to more of a climax and confrontation than was necessary. I'd deduct half a star, but not a whole one.
Shamelessly indulgent........2007-10-07
My sister strongly recommended this book when I was visiting her this year. So I picked it up when I saw it being sold at train stations and airports all over Europe.
First, I have to say that this was a nearly compulsively pleasant read. The literary equivalent of a hot bath and a glass of red wine. The Shadow of the Wind is a coming of age story with mildly supernatural/mysterious overtones with a strong theme of books and book lovers. In order to ensure that his readers are completely blissed out, Zafon includes romance, gothic family histories and political corruption. There is even a mysterious stranger with a hidden face who may or may not be the devil. Think Anne Rice in some of her better moments, and you'll get the idea.
The Shadow of the Wind is a reader's guilty pleasure. It harks pleasantly back to another time. It is evocative. It keeps the pages turning.
Sadly, it does not deliver on its promise. That is almost inevitable, given how many doors it opens and how many different themes Zafon tries to keep in the air. There are a few too many implausible ways that the loose ends are tied up in the last third of the book. The resolution is not really as satisfying as I had hoped. The flaws keep The Shadow of the Wind from being a really high quality novel, even though they do not really detract from the entertainment value.
In a way, the failure of the end is caused by the magnificent success of the beginning. The first half of the novel was always going to be a hard act to follow. Still, I would more than recommend it for readers willing to take it for what it is-- great entertainment value.
A good, moving story.......2007-10-03
The protagonist, Daniel Sempere is the son of a bookstore-keeper. At the age of 10, he finds a rare book by one Julian Carax in the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books". After finishing it, he finds out that there's someone who is trying to destroy all existing copies of Carax's books. This is how begins a complex plot that lasts about 10 years, and involves lots of mysteries and original characters.
"Original" is a good summary of this book. On one hand a typical thriller, but on the other hand not quite. There is something special about this book, about the way it is written. It's not a deliberate page-turner like many modern fiction novels aspire to be, although it could be, since it's obvious from the start that the author has the skill to make it so. Instead, its plot unfolds in a more relaxed tempo, spanning over a longer period of time.
There are many exciting characters in this book - like Fermin. This guy made me laugh quite a lot, he's a hysterically funny guy. Inspector Fumero is also a very unusual and interesting character, in his own wicked way. Another character is probably the city of Barcelona, where all the plot takes place and that's described beautifully.
I like books about books, so "The Shadow of the Wind" was a delight in this aspect. Additionally, I felt there's a certain closed loop in it - the enigmatic resemblance of Carax's and Sempere's lives. The difference is that Carax's life turned extremely tragically, while Sempere's ended well. There's a strange kind of emotionality hidden in this concept, and I found it very moving.
To conclude, this is a very good book. I can't say it's perfect - the author seems a bit inexperienced and there are some omissions and inconsistencies. However, in the whole, I loved reading it and hence recommend it.
A real page-turner.......2007-09-30
This book is CRAZY! It has absolutely everything: love, murder, betrayal, incest, and more! "The Shadow of the Wind" is set in post-war Barcelona in the year 1945. Daniel, a young boy, accompanies his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books one evening and finds a book written by Julian Carax. After reading the book, Daniel is so engrossed that he attempts to locate other books by the same author, but cannot find any. However, he does discover stories about a mysterious man named Lain Coubert, which is the same name Carax uses for the character of the devil in one of his novels. Lain Coubert has spent years tracking down copes of Carax's books and setting fire to them. In time, Daniel comes face to face with Lain Coubert, and Daniel soon finds himself immersed in a story that began many years ago and may very well threaten his own life.
This is a truly excellent book that has the makings of a great gothic novel. It took me a long time to finish reading it because there are so many characters and plot twists to keep track of, but the intriguing story was well worth the effort I put into it. I couldn't put this book down. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
Charlaine Harris is already a star and a New York Times bestseller with her vampire mysteries starring Sookie Stackhouse and her Lily Bard mysteries. This second installment to her new supernatural mystery series might just be her biggest hit yet. Grave Sight's Harper Connelly is back, and her ability to find the dead and see their last moments is in higher demand than ever...
A college class gets more than it bargained for when Harper gives a demonstration of her uncanny talent. Instead of just finding one body in an old grave, she finds two: the original occupant and a recently deceased girl whom Harper had tried, and failed, to find two years previously. To dispel suspicions about her own innocence, Harper and her stepbrother Tolliver undertake their own hunt to find the killer-only to find yet another body in the same grave.
Customer Reviews:
Deja Vu.......2007-10-16
Second in a series, "Grave Surprise" is simply too much like the first: judgemental bystanders, unfriendly main characters, murder mystery with increasing body count, lame "you must be guilty because you found the corpse" excuse to involve the main characters. Can be read independently of the first novel -- and probably would be much more enjoyable that way. Mood is vaguely depressing.
An improvement over book one.......2007-10-16
Though I find Charlaine Harris to be an entertaining writer usually, I was not impressed by the first Harper Connelly book. Reluctantly, I decided to read book two anyway and I do not regret this decision. The plot flowed more smoothly than the previous book and the central story idea was intriguing. I do agree with previous reviewers that this series is not the best work Harris has ever done. The protagonist Harper is a very prickly person indeed who has had a life that is gothic in its sadness and hardship. I also find the relationship with Harper's stepbrother creepy. In the first book it was clear that these two are in love with each other and in this book Harper finally realizes it for herself. I wish Harris would not continue with this unfortunate romantic plotline and instead concentrate on writing the great stories that Harper's ability would let her create.
HOW is this a "good read", exactly?.......2007-10-10
Pay attention to what you are reading people; this story has many continuity problems! First, after the discovery of the two bodies in the grave, Harper and Tolliver discuss how the "older male student" (who turns out to be a private detective) seemed suspicious. Go back and reread the scene they allude to--nothing was particularly odd about the man,except he stood out because of his age, and he voiced one suggestion, which was described as sounding "objective".
Second, ditto Harper's run in with the FBI agent. A harmless conversation becomes blown out of perportion when Harper and Tolliver talk about it.
Third, (and this is the worst)re-read the phone conversation between Harper and her little sisters. Work out their ages on a time line. The youngest is 9, making her 16 years younger than Harper's 25. Then Harper says her sisters were 3 and 5 when Cameron(?, the missing middle sister) disappeared. Doing the math makes Harper 19 when Cameron disappeared--BUT Harper was supposely younger, as she spent her senior year in a foster home after Cameron disappeared!
Lack of Continuity ruins what could have been a good story.
And the sad decline begins.......2007-10-01
This book is pretty good, until... until she begins the predictable, sad decline into gothic romance that her other series sped into. In this book, we see the seeds for the next in the series to begin exploring the faux "incest" theme she set up clumsily in book one.
Sad, though, because this book and it's predecessor are good, and even fairly original. Now, I cannot, and will not, buy book three. Jesus wept.
Boring!.......2007-10-01
I have read the first two books in this series (this is the second) and won't follow up with the third. This book is slow, with plodding, uninteresting characters. 75% of the book is taken up with either unproductive internal monologue inside Harper's head or boring dialogue between the characters. Very little attempts have been made toward forshadowing, and what little there was, was obvious with the conclusion wrapped up quickly at the end. Weirdly, only a few pages are devoted to Harper's gift of reading dead people. Is this not the premise of the book?
All Ms. Harris's books have a "depressing" underlying theme in which she focuses on the negative side of southern life (discrimination) which makes me wonder if this is reflective of her own experiences, or if she is a "downer" herself. I do like her Sookie Stackhouse series, which I think the saving grace there are the characters, by being unusual bring interest to the story but then again, there is the pervasive depressing/discrimination theme running through the series. I have never been able to read more than one or two in her series and apparently am a glutton for punishment as I keep hoping (unrealistically) for a better series based on the Sookie Series.
Book Description
On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the president's corpse.
In a lively and dramatic narrative, Thomas J. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and largely forgotten, event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context. He takes us through the planning and execution of the crime and the outcome of the investigation. He describes the reactions of Mary Todd Lincoln and Robert Todd Lincoln to the theft--and the peculiar silence of a nation. He follows the unlikely tale of what happened to Lincoln's remains after the attempted robbery, and details the plan devised by the Lincoln Guard of Honor to prevent a similar abominable recurrence.
Along the way, Craughwell offers entertaining sidelights on the rise of counterfeiting in America and the establishment of the Secret Service to combat it; the prevalence of grave robberies; the art of nineteenth-century embalming; and the emergence among Irish immigrants of an ambitious middle class--and a criminal underclass.
This rousing story of hapless con men, intrepid federal agents, and ordinary Springfield citizens who honored their native son by keeping a valuable, burdensome secret for decades offers a riveting glimpse into late-nineteenth-century America, and underscores that truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Customer Reviews:
I'm off to Springfield..........2007-09-21
A must read before your next tour to Springfield, IL and I apologize to all my grade school teachers for rolling my eyes during those trips. This has got to be one of the most intriguing series of historical data I have ever read. Craughwell will place you squarely in the middle of it all.
wonderful book.......2007-07-22
The box was full of ants. They spilled out when I opened the box. It was really creepy.
Love This Book!.......2007-07-16
I had just finished American Brutus and was hungry for more on the subject when I came across this charming and extremely well told narrative of the plot to steal Lincoln's body. Mr. Craughwell has a pitch perfect ear, capturing both the tragedy of the assassination and the rollicking comedy of a young country where enterprise and illegality often overlapped. Counterfeit wampum, the tricks of the embalming trade, the excesses of tabloid journalism...this is the kind of book that gets you hooked on history for life and delights those of us who got hooked so many years ago.
Thomas Craughwell exhumes a bizarre and long forgotten episode in our nations history........2007-07-16
It was an incident that I had never heard of or read about anywhere. Indeed, when I asked about a dozen friends and relatives not one of them had ever heard about it either. On Election Night 1876 Terrence Mullen and Jack Hughes attempted to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln from the sarcophagus inside the Lincoln Monument at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Il. It was all part of a bizarre plot concocted by a two-bit counterfeiter known as Big Jim Kennally. "Stealing Lincoln's Body" recalls this somewhat obscure tidbit of history. This is a fascinating tale that will go a long way to help the reader understand just what was going on in these United States back in 1876 and in the years that followed.
Perhaps the most important fact that you will come across in "Stealing Lincoln's Body" is that in 1876 nearly half of the money in circulation was counterfeit. I found this to be absolutely incredible! This was a serious problem that was wreaking havoc with the nation's economy as we attempted to bounce back from the Civil War. One of the most accomplished counterfeiters of that era was a man named Benjamin Boyd who hailed from Cincinnati, OH which at that time was recognized as the counterfeit capitol of the nation. It was his arrest and incarceration in October, 1875 that would eventually lead to the plot to steal the body of President Lincoln.
"Stealing Lincoln's Body" reveals the intimate details of how the plot to steal the President's body and hold it for ransom was hatched. You will be introduced to Elmer Washburn, chief of the Secret Service and to detective Patrick Tyrrell who were both instrumental in foiling the plot to steal Lincoln's body. And you will meet John Carroll Power, the custodian of the Lincoln Monument and the group of men who were part of a secret society that would come to be known as "The Lincoln Guard of Honor". In addition, you will discover the fascinating secret about the actual whereabouts of President Lincoln's body in the years following the attempt to steal it. You will also learn a bit about what was going on in the very sad life of Abraham Lincoln's widow Mary. She would never get over the assasination of her husband. In addition, you will gain some new insights into the life of the Lincoln's only surviving son Robert Todd Lincoln. Robert would have to be classified as somewhat of an enigma and his life certainly would take any number of strange twists and turns along the way.
I found "Stealing Lincoln's Body" to be an extremely engrossing read. I also would be remiss if I failed to mention the 20 pages of photographs included here that really seemed to bring these events to life for me. Thomas Craughwell has done a fine job of bringing to light an important piece of American history. Recommended!
One of the best!!.......2007-07-09
One of the best history books I've read in a long time! Some fascinating and little known facts. Couldn't put it down!
Book Description
Translated by Robert Graves and Revised with an Introduction by Michael Grant.
Customer Reviews:
Answers about the Roman Emperors.......2007-08-24
This is an engaging book, full of intersting facts which sometimes are hard to find. The book is written with an easy flow, that keeps your interest till the end.
For avid followers of history, in particular the good and bad of Roman emperors, this is a book for you.
THE TWELVE CAESARS - SUETONIUS.......2007-07-21
I FOUND THIS TITLE BY THE ROMAN AUTHOR SUETONIUS TO BE A FASCINATING AND IN-DEPTH [ IF ACCORDING TO SOME HISTORIANS A BIT BIASED ] OVER-VIEW OF THE FIRST TWELVE RULERS OF ROME WHO HELD OR ADOPTED THE NOMEN OF CAESAR. MY REASON FOR PURCHASING WAS THAT MY OLD PAPERBACK VERSION HAD SUFFERED FROM BEING OVER-READ AND REFERRED TO AND WAS DELAPIDATED.
GAIUS JULIUS WAS OF THE FAMILY - HIS GREAT NEPHEW OCTAVIANUS TOOK HIS NAMES AFTER ADOPTION INTO THE FAMILY AND THEREAFTER THE CAESAR TITLE CAME LESS TO BE A FAMILY TITLE THAN AN INDICATOR THAT THE EMPERORS LOOKED BACK TO THE ASSASSINATED ORIGINAL AS THEIR FOREBEAR IF NOT IN BLOODLINE THEN IN SIMPLE FACT.
IT IS A TITLE THAT SURVIVED DOWN TO THE RUSSIAN CZARS AND THE GERMAN KAISERS. KAI-SER, IN FACT, IS HOW THE NAME CAESAR WAS ORIGINALLY PRO-NOUNCED IN LATIN USEAGE.
WITH NERO THE IMMEDIATE LINE OF THE CAESARS EXTINGUISHED BUT THERE WERE MANY MORE INTERESTING, IF NOT AS DEEPLY INTERESTING, RULERS TO FOLLOW HIM. THE BOOK COVERS THE JULIO-CLAUDIANS, THE THREE INTERIM EMERORS IN 68 AND 69 [ GALBA, OTHO AND VITELLIUS ] AND THE FLAVIANS, VESPASIAN, TITUS AND DOMITIAN.
ALONGSIDE GRAVES' 'I CLAUDIUS', 'THE TWELVE CAESARS' IS A VERY GOOD INTRODUCTION FOR ANYONE SEEKING TO EXAMINE, FROM MANY CENTURIES DIVORCED , THE INTRIGUING AND LITERAL BACK STABBING THAT WENT ON IN IMPERIAL ROME'S EARLY YEARS.
ROGER DESHON - 22 QUEENSCOURT ROAD ALEXANDRA HILLS QLD 4161 AUSTRALIA
The Basis of Much Of What We know About These Guys .......2007-06-16
This is really a fascinating book on so many levels. First so much historical fiction, and drama that has been based on the lives of the Ceasars is indebted to Suetonius as the author who wrote these incredible character sketches. There's much to learn about the personal lives of the famous Roman emperors in this fine translation. This has served as source material for centuries of scholars and writers who found universal truths about human nature and political power in these lives.
Very accessible to the general reader and highly entertaining.
The Gold Standard of Ancient History.......2007-04-17
This translation of Suetonius's Twelve Ceasars translated by Robert Graves with a great introduction by Michael Grant is a history-lover's dream. This is definitely my favorite historial work in translation; it is expertly and lovingly brought to life. To me, anybody should be able to be transported in moments back to ancient Rome in the time of Augustus or Nero and have one hell of a read. Suetonius was a minor government functionary who was given the spectacular opportunity to see the early imperial archives, kind of like a blogger or National Enquirer reporter given the opportunity to look at Clinton-era video surveilance or Nixon's Watergate tapes. This work is one of the most accessible views of ancient history ever. It's filled with lurid sex, gossip, murder, palace coups, degeneracy, monumental building, war, poisonings, etc. If you're going to be a liberal arts major, it pays to know a few dirty stories about the Caesars; this is the book to read.
Rome's Tabloid Historian.......2007-03-26
Suetonius grew up in the years following Nero's reign and wrote these histories while he was the secretary of the emperor Hadrian in the early second century A.D. His book covers the successive reigns of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian.
The stories focus on the emperors themselves more than the events which took place under their reigns and, although there's certainly some truth to those emperors, many of Suetonius' facts are anecdotal stories and rumors. Suetonius has therefore been called one of the first tabloid writers. Nevertheless, his biographies are rather concise and systematic; touching upon the physical attributes of the ruler, his background, the good deeds (if any) in his reign and then, of course, the bad deeds.
Robert Graves' translation is superb and probalby one of the best ones available. It is quite faithful to the generally jovial mood of Suetonius' work and presented with a good introduction by reputed historian Michael Grant. I can't help but be amused at some of the stories Suetonius recites on Nero and Caligula as they are definitely two of the most eccentric emperors (to put it lightly)that ever ruled the Principate. For example, when Nero first inaugurated his new gigantic Golden House with a mile-long corridor and a 130' statue of himself at the entrance, he was said to have exclaimed, "At last! I can live like a human being!"
Amazon.com
Having never seen the famous 1970s television series based on Graves' historical novel of ancient Rome and being generally uneducated about matters both ancient and Roman, I wasn't prepared for such an engaging book. But it's a ripping good read, this fictional autobiography set in the Roman Empire's days of glory and decadence. As a history lesson, it's fabulous; as a novel it's also wonderful. Best is Claudius himself, the stutterer who let everyone think he was an idiot (to avoid getting poisoned) but who reveals himself in the narrative to be a wry and likable observer. His story continues in Claudius the God.
Book Description
Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. A masterpiece.
Customer Reviews:
Fast Paced historical fiction.......2007-08-30
Movies set in ancient Rome has always given a bloated/ larger than life view of the period. Thanks to movies like Gladiator, Spartacus and Ben-hur. When people say the word "Rome", we envision gladiators and people dressed up in bad togas and epic battles. I Claudius removes all these cliches. You dont have battle descriptions, Heston/Crowe-like heroes, swordfights, etc. What you get here is a gritty, realistic picture of post-Julius Caeser period. Think about a Martin Scorcese gangster picture - Departed or Goodfellas or Casino set in roman period. The book is filled with political maneouvers, double crosses, murders. The narration is by an interesting emperor. None of the characters are defined as "good" or "bad". Everyone has a gray shade. The book has three villains - Livia (you will never forget this character in your life), Caligula (depicted as a psycho) and Tiberius. Livia is so good at her villany, you would start loving her !
You would never close the book in the middle. Very fast paced. Most of the events in the book are true. You might keep the book down only in you are overwhelmed by murders (I was !). The number of murders per page increases as the book moved forward.
Roman history has never been this good. Do not get turned off by the fact that this book is "literature"..All top 100 lists will feature this book. Let me put it this way - this is the most "entertaining" and "mainstream" literature. Enjoy the wonderful read !
Fascinating.......2007-08-28
A fascinating, well researched historical novel. I love Roman history and this is as good as it gets. The characters are well researched and very well developed. The result is captivating. I highly recomend this book.
Just brilliant.......2007-06-25
The history of the reign of the Caesars is one that has more fast-paced action, betrayal, violence, sexual depravity, scheming than any modern-day thriller. However there are few examples of great fictionalised accounts that present this. I Claudius is such an account - Graves makes for extremely compelling, unputdownable reading without sacrificing historical accuracy, for the facts speak for themselves. You don't need to know much about Roman history, or anything for that matter, because the novel takes you through everything. The differences -- and similarities -- between that world and ours are also made very apparent by the narrator (Claudius before he became emperor) and enrich the book. Finally there is a great sense of irony maintained throughout -- of course the facts of history themselves are ironic (the stuttering Claudius thought of by most as a fool surviving his murdering relatives to become emperor). But Graves capitalises on this and other ironies. And of course it is a historical novel narrated by a character who is himself a historian bringing up some interesting questions.
I was enthralled, entertained, educated and more and am already breezing through the sequel (Claudius the God).
A delightful read.......2007-06-01
I, Claudius is written as if it were the autobiography of Claudius, the fourth ruler of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. I should preface this review by pointing out that I began this book knowing very little of ancient Roman history, and therefore I cannot speak authoritatively on the historical accuracy of the novel. My primary basis for praising the book is that Mr. Graves here tells a darn good story. I have read elsewhere that Graves preferred poetry to prose, and that he wrote novels so that he would be financially independent enough to pursue his ultimate calling, poetry. Be that as it may, this book is written in beautiful prose. It isn't the ebullient, ecstatic prose of a Nabokov or Joyce, but rather a very concise, clean prose. Both the writing style and the exciting narrative conspire to make this a fast, delightful read.
Claudius was born into the upper echelons of Roman society during the reign of Augustus Caesar, who was his great uncle. Because of various physical deformities and a pronounced stutter, many regarded him as an idiot. Because of his status as somewhat of a social outcast, Claudius throughout most of his early life did not participate directly in the political intrigues of the day. Rather, he observed them from afar, and this book is written as if it were Claudius' retelling of these observations. A good portion of the book concerns itself with the stories of others, and he himself doesn't feature prominently in the action until later. The book is populated with fascinating characters, including his diabolical, powerful grandmother Livia, his heroic brother Germanicus, his demented nephew Caligula, and countless others. I was almost reminded when reading it of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Although the two books' settings could hardly be more different, they each share a number of commonalities, including a rich cast of wonderfully drawn characters, perfect narrative pace, and complex, multilayered plots and subplots. And despite the ancient setting, the plots here have everything that the modern, worldly reader could hope for: political intrigues, assassination, torture, incest, adultery (so, so much adultery!), all manner of sexually perverse acts, dozens of suicides, military battles, witchcraft, curses, prophecies...the list goes on and on!
Overall, I recommend this book to anybody looking for a good story. A strong interest in or knowledge of Rome isn't necessary, as my own praise of the book indicates. I'm not sure if I am going to read the sequel, Claudius the God, anytime soon, mainly because of time constraints, but I plan in the near future to watch the entire BBC miniseries! Graves did a wonderful service by breathing new life into these fascinating historical characters. Historians can quibble all they want about whether the book faithfully recounts the historical record or whether Graves was pushing any political agendas. The book was written as a piece of historical fiction, and it succeeds marvelously on every level.
A delicious Caesar Salad .......2007-04-14
Chronicaling through 5 Caesars as told by the so-called "idiot" Claudius. Claudius is destined to be Caesar by keeping under the radar.
The story of each Caeser is captivating, the politics and betrayals are brutal. Caligula is both scary and funny.
A top 10 book for me.
This book is followed by Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina which was also a good read.
Book Description
McGraw-Hill Technology Education’s Professional Approach Series presents exercises in real-life business situations so students get hands-on experience working on actual projects--the best way to prepare them for the on-the-job challenges they'll face. Each lesson contains up to 25 skill-applications and 5 end-of-unit skill-applications that take students from simple to complex situations. The Office 2003 texts complete instruction in all skill sets and activities for the appropriate Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS) Exams.
Customer Reviews:
2003 Power Point Book.......2006-11-06
I used this book for an online Power Point class. It was good because it walked you through Power Point but built on things you had learned earlier to reenforce them which was quite helpful. Using it as a resource now that the class is over.
Book Description
Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her stepbrother Tolliver as her manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.
Download Description
Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.
Customer Reviews:
I didn't expect to like it -- but I did.......2007-09-18
"Grave Sight" is a murder mystery novel, with one small fantasy twist -- the main character has a psychic ability that tells her the cause of death when near any corpse. The setting is modern day, the victims a teenage couple, and the "detectives" the psychic and her step brother, who are investigate reluctantly.
Overall, this novel is nicely written, enjoyable, entertaining, and closes nicely. On the other hand . . . the mood is pessimistic and glum; the pshychic and her brother actively seek one night stands with complete strangers (which grosses me out); the psychic spends way too much time feeling sorry for herself; and the third quarter drags on a bit. Still, I enjoyed it and I'll read the sequel.
Good book.......2007-08-13
I really like Charlaine Harris as an author. This is my second book that I have read of hers. They are mystery with a little bit of paranormal. Just my kind of book! She doesn't put in a lot of filler descriptive words which I like. It holds your interest all the way through. I recommend this book and Grave Surprise.
Bodies, bodies everywhere.......2007-06-29
Grave Sight(2005)
I bought this book for my wife based upon Arthur W. Jordin's excellent review(see below) and then decided to read it myself, first. It's an excellent book, if you enjoy the TV shows Bones, House and others like them which my wife does you'll enjoy this book. It isn't War and Peace, but it is light enjoyable reading. I didn't particularly like War and Peace anyhow. I think it was all those Russian names.
Gunner June, 2007
An Unwelcome Mystery.......2007-06-27
Okay I was fooled into getting this book by a person I know and it wasnt what I expected. For people who have read her other series please do not think that this book follows the sames lines or even the humor in this series. If you like mystery with a touch of suspense than this for you. Harper has powers that allows her to see death seeing as she was hit by lightening when she was younger. All in all it has good characters and a solid plot but for those as I said looking for another Sookie go elsewhere this series is for the mystery at heart readers.
Keeper Shelf Material.......2007-06-12
The books that Charlain Harris writes have been ending up on my keeper shelf for years. This new book seems to be keeping right up with her older series for entertainment value, so if you like your mysteries with a bit of paranormal spice, this one will fit right in. I enjoyed it very much and will be looking for more in the series.
Average customer rating:
- Great resource
- Reading and Learning in the Content Areas 2nd edition
- Reading and Learning in Content Areas 2nd edition
|
Reading and Learning in Content Areas
Randall J. Ryder , and
Michael F. Graves
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework
ASIN: 0471391417 |
Book Description
With its easy-to-read format and hands-on approach, this book retains many of the basic themes that made it popular, while presenting new and exciting ideas that reflect the advances in technology and the emphasis on multiculturalism. Based on a constructivist approach, the book introduces numerous ways for teachers to facilitate students' ability to gain understanding through reading, thinking, and communicating in subject matters.
Customer Reviews:
Great resource.......2005-09-22
This book contains educational research presented in a realtively easy to read form, and practicle classroom applications. Great for curriculum development.
Reading and Learning in the Content Areas 2nd edition.......2000-06-12
Reviewer: A reader from Appleton, Wisconsin As an Elementary Reading Specialist, I use Reading and Learning in Content Areas to plan my reading program. I like the organization and sequential way lessons are presented in the chapters. I use Reading and Learning in Content Areas to collaborate with teachers to plan for student instruction. As we read and share the ideas it provides us with a common dialogue. When planning lessons, we can integrate reading comprehension and writing strategies with the content areas. Using the content area strategies suggested in the book assists students to assimilate new information they have learned. Teachers have noted that it sparks new teaching ideas and methods. The authors motivate teachers to try new ideas and the format is easy to understand. I have used Reading and Learning in Content Areas for planning staff development inservices and teacher study groups. Teachers can easily update their instructional methods as they practice these new methods with their students. There are exercises which teachers can use at the end of each chapter. I especially like the reading comprehension and writing chapters. The authors clearly explain the best methods of instruction and strategic teaching based on research. I believe that using this book consistently as our guide to instruction has improved our standardized test scores. Reading and Learning in Content Areas is a valuable resource for Elementary as well as Junior high and High school teachers. One can adapt the lessons to the grade level they are teaching.
Reading and Learning in Content Areas 2nd edition.......2000-06-12
As an Elementary Reading Specialist, I use Reading and Learning in Content Areas to plan my reading program. I like the organization and sequential way lessons are presented in the chapters. I use Reading and Learning in Content Areas to collaborate with teachers to plan for student instruction. As we read and share the ideas it provides us with a common dialogue. When planning lessons,we can integrate reading comprehension and writing strategies with the content areas. Teachers have noted that it sparks new teaching ideas and methods. The authors motivate teachers to try new ideas and the format is easy to understand. I have used Reading and Learning in Content Areas for planning staff development inservices and teacher study groups. Teachers can easily update their instructional methods as they practice these new methods with their students. There are exercises which teachers can use at the end of each chapter. I especially like the reading comprehension and writing chapters. The authors clearly explain the best methods of instruction and strategic teaching based on research. I believe that using this book consistently as our guide to instruction has improved our standardized test scores. Reading and Learning in Content Areas is a valuable resource for Elementary as well as Junior high and High school teachers. One can adapt the lessons to the grade level they are teaching.
Average customer rating:
- Enjoyable read
- Out of Control
- Just ok.
- Solid.
- A Great Symphony With Some Discordant Elements
|
The Grave Tattoo
Val McDermid
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
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McDermid, Val
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Christine Falls: A Novel
ASIN: 0312339216
Release Date: 2007-02-06 |
Book Description
In a novel reminiscent of The Rule of Four, The Dante Club and The Historian, suspense master McDermid spins a psychological thriller in which a present-day murder has its roots in the eighteenth century and the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty. After torrential summer rains uncover a bizarrely tattooed body on a Lake District hillside, long discarded old wives' tales takes on a chilling new plausibility. For centuries, Lakelanders have whispered that Fletcher Christian staged the massacre on Pitcairn so that he could return home. And there, he told his story to an old friend and schoolmate, William Wordsworth, who turned it into a long narrative poem--a poem that remained hidden lest it expose Wordsworth to the gallows for harboring a fugitive. Wordsworth specialist Jane Gresham, herself a native of the Lake District, feels compelled to discover once and for all whether the manuscript ever existed--and whether it still exists today. But as she pursues each new lead, death follows hard on her heels. Suddenly Jane is at the heart of a 200-year-old mystery that still has the power to put lives on the line. Against the dramatic backdrop of England's Lake District a drama of life and death plays out, its ultimate prize a bounty worth millions.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable read.......2007-10-14
Not without its flaws, namely that the whole Tenille subplot felt like a deux ex machina to wrap up the events in the end, and it is at times too British for my UScentric tastes. Regardless, the pace was solid, the mixing in of the lost manuscript between chapters was compelling. Though it was easy to figure out the bad guy before he was revealed, the ending was enough to redeem any problems.
I have a soft spot for untidy endings, and The Grave Tattoo walks the line between happy and slightly tragic nicely.
Her main characters were fleshed out enough for me to put solid faces behind them, and she was able to take a boring old sod like Wordsworth (not his poetry, mind you) and spin a fun yarn.
I read A Place of Execution several years ago and liked it enough to go into this book on her name alone. Will definately read another from her soon.
Out of Control.......2007-09-09
Val McDermid has proven herself an outstanding mystery writer in the past with efforts like "Place of Execution" and "Wire in the Blood," so it was dismaying to read this novel and see plot and characterization spinning out of control as if this were a first novel. Too many characters, too many subplots and too much history leave the reader with no more than an outline for two or three novels. A wise editor would have taken a pruning shears to this work while it was still a first draft. She attempts to cram in so much that there is no space for proper characterization and some plot turns seem to sacrifice reason to keep the story moving.
Just ok........2007-08-20
Yup - an OK read. Nice plotting. Until the end. The identity of the bad guy seemed pretty unrealistic to me. And if it REALLY was that easy to knock off old geezers leaving only the essentially invisible indication described in this book, the nursing homes would be empty.
Solid........2007-08-14
Having never read a book by this author before, I didn't have any expectations for it. I enjoyed it though, it was intelligent enough to stay interesting yet not to technical to lose the reader. Having read some of the reviews, if this is some of her shoddy work then I'm sure I'll like other books by her. I'm beginnning to open up to female authors the more that I read books as good as this.
A Great Symphony With Some Discordant Elements.......2007-07-08
This is a fine book. It is richly imagined and nicely executed. The story, while anchored in fact, is fresh and the setting is beautifully realized. I prefer it to A Place of Execution and that was a lovely book. Those who are familiar with the Lake District will confirm the quality and precision of McDermid's representations of it--down to such details as the cloying nature of Dove Cottage and Wordsworth's need to go outside it in order to work.
Multiple, but related plots converge from multiple points and the conclusion is tidy and economical. The only problem for me was one of genre. There are strong elements of noir (the slummy London project in which the protagonist, her black 13 year-old friend and her gangsta father live), of international crime (with an antiquity-seeking, man-devouring string puller in the Mediterranean), and of the cozy (the Lakeland setting, with its local police and local `characters'). There are also some nice dollops of the procedural with a sexy forensic anthropologist and a body found in a peat bog that might just be that of Fletcher Christian. So we have the historical mystery as well as the literary mystery, with Christian's connections with Wordsworth.
This is not to suggest that the novel is a hash, for the tone remains more or less consistent throughout and the plot holds the attention firmly. I would say that a medley of genres seldom works in this kind of fiction and that while this is an excellent book, one that has much in it to be admired, the mingling of genre elements holds the book back, and that is a pity. It is still highly recommended.
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