Book Description
Chris Chandler, a closeted California Supreme Court justice and an old friend of Henry's, has been murdered. The investigation is focused on Chris's younger lover, Zack, who turns to Henry for help. Devastated by his friend's death and traumatized by his own lover Josh's rapid descent towards death from AIDS, Henry isn't sure he wants to know what his investigation will ultimately reveal about Chris's double life.
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Against the Draft: Essays on Conscientious Objection from the Radical Reformation to the Second World War
Peter Brock
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0802090737 |
Book Description
Around the world and for hundreds of years, men and women have refused to be drafted into bearing arms for their nations' wars. These conscientious objectors to the draft are the subject of Peter Brock's latest collection, Against the Draft. Brock, the world's leading historian on pacifism, has assembled twenty-five of his essays on conscientious objection to the draft from the beginning of the Radical Reformation in 1525 to the end of the Second World War.
Included in the collection are essays on little known facets of the anti-draft movement including the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition of military exemption that started with the outset of the Radical Reformation in 1525 and has continued, with variations, until the present. Further articles deal with the Quakers in a number of countries, Civil-war America, Leo Tolstoy (who became a convinced pacifist in the later part of his life,) British conscientious objectors in the Non-Combatant Corps, the emergence of conscientious objection in Japan, and the fate of conscientious objectors in the psychiatric clinics of Germany and in interwar Poland. Essays on the Central European Nazerenes and on Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany highlight the exceptionally harsh treatment meted out to conscientious objectors belonging to these two sects, and their steadfast resistance to the state's demand to bear arms. Against the Draft makes an important contribution to the growing study of pacifism and conscientious objection, and represents a key work in the career of the field's foremost scholar.
Amazon.com
Given the call-girl scandal that ended Dick Morris's career as Bill Clinton's chief political strategist, maybe they should have called this one "Under the Oval Office." The book is recommended because in Clinton's "Wilderness Years" of 1994 and 1995, when Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution was in full flower, Morris undeniably had Clinton's ear. And what he was constantly whispering in it--that the president should effect a strategy of "triangulation," in which he would disassociate himself from both the Republicans *and* the Democrats in the Congress--proved winning advice. After all, Clinton was reelected even though both houses remained Republican. But perhaps it's a mistake to claim, as Morris does, that the scandal should be separated from his job performance. Wasn't it a case of not only compromising his position, but compromising principles as well? Isn't this the real danger of relying on nonpartisan political consultants?
Book Description
This new edition of Behind the Oval Office contains an insightful an devastating new interpretation of President Clinton's character and career. Also included are actual agendas Dick Morris used for his briefing sessions with the president. The Justice Department subpoenaed them during its investigation of the president. Kenneth Starr used them to build his case. Now released to the public for the first time, these remarkable sources provide a rare inside look into White House meetings. The agendas are a virtual diary of how Morris, armed with his polling data, helped Clinton outmaneuver his adversaries and overcome his mistakes-creating policy as a potent cocktail of ideals, opportunities, marketing strategies, and aspirations sold to the public in brilliant advertising campaigns.
Customer Reviews:
Captivating Read....And I Can't Stand Bill Clinton.......2005-02-19
I was expecting a "Bill Clinton is a genius" book and prepared to dislike it. I've never cared for Clinton because the guy is so obviously out for himself - and at the same time decrying people for that very trait. As a President, Clinton confused personal victories with leadership (need I say impeachment?).
But regarding the actual race, I want to say that this book reads better than almost all of those campaign journal books by Teddy White and Jack Germond/Jules Witcover - and especially those of Elizabeth Drew. Morris makes clear his admiration of Clinton while leaving the reader with the conclusion that Clinton had a split personality - Morris calls one the policy wonk and the other the Eagle Scout.
Morris is NOT a conservative. Anyone who gets on his case about that is seriously misguided. Yes, he was (perhaps is) a Republican, but he covered that in detail, too. After all, how many people voted for BOTH George McGovern AND Ronald Reagan?
The book left me captivated as Morris clearly understands the ideological differences between the two parties. I think Morris is on somewhat less stable ground that the GOP would never nominate a Colin Powell, but I agree with virtually all of his other points.
Sadly, Morris hubris sunk him. Readers will remember that during the 1996 campaign, Morris got caught with a hooker and thrown out the door. Given Clinton's peccadilloes, I would think this behavior would get Morris nominated VP. But give Morris credit - he blamed himself and ONLY himself for that one.
The one bad thing out of the book is that Morris did the entire country a disservice by getting Clinton re-elected. While Morris may have felt that it was the right thing to do at the time, history shows Clinton to be just the way Morris saw him in his book - weak and namby-pamby and without a central core of beliefs of what he actually wanted to do as President. This is unfortunate given how history unfolded: if Clinton had had some guidance and actually run on issues of what he was going to do (that was tough since he did almost nothing he promised in 1992), he would have had some political cover when the Lewinsky scandal broke.
The book is must-read for political junkies or for somebody who wants to know Bill Clinton from the inside.
Surprisingly Captivating.......2004-02-14
Bill Clinton hired Dick Morris as a consultant for his 1996 reelection campaign. His role as an advisor to the president was kept a secret for several months, and eventually ended in a tabloid-driven scandal that cost Dick his job. Behind the Oval Office provides an account of this time from Dick's perspective.
The account is told in a surprisingly linear and story-like fashion. It makes for a captivating literary experience (which is a real accomplishment considering that this is a political book). It also serves as an outlet for Dick to apologize for, and make peace with, the scandal that cost him his job (and almost his marriage).
I found the book to be quite fair in describing the principals of the Clinton administration and Republican leadership in Congress (Dick Morris had also consulted for many Republicans over the years and briefly served as an information conduit between Bill Clinton and Trent Lott).
The bottom line is this: If you're looking for some sort of a hatchet-job on the Clinton administration, look elsewhere. If you're looking for starting revelations and juicy details, try the tabloids. However, if you want to know more about one of the most unique relationships a president has ever shared with an advisor, this is the book for you.
the man behind the victory.......2003-11-11
Part campaign chronicle, part autobiography, part political strategy primer, Behind the Oval Office is Morris's look at the period from about November 1994 through August 1996 when he worked as a consultant for Bill Clinton. Morris includes some background information, such as his earlier history with the Clintons and his relationship with Trent Lott, but the primary focus is how Clinton won the presidency after the 1994 midterm elections, to many observers, turned him into an apparent lame duck.
Morris takes great pains to point out that he is (or at least was) an equal opportunity consultant, advising both Republicans and Democrats. Indeed, when he got his first call from Clinton in 1994, he was working on a handful of Republican campaigns, including Tom Ridge's race for governor in Pennsylvania. Previously, he had worked for Trent Lott, whom Morris deeply respects, and, surprisingly enough, for Jesse Helms, a job which, not too surprisingly, ended with Morris's being fired. There's something a shade Machiavellian about this, about caring for victory above all else. But Morris also goes to great lengths to explain his "craft." It is not simply spin or slander or attack or government-by-polls; rather, it is about issues and substance. Morris insists that he merely examines a candidates repertoire of positions and, based on polls, picks the ones to emphasize.
It is an interesting book by an obviously brilliant man. Clinton's reversal of fortunes between 1994 and 1996 is nothing short of stunning, and much of it was Dick Morris's doing. That is, until he encountered his own scandal during the 1996 convention. (Of course, Dick Morris's strategies would continue to reap benefits after he left.) If there is a negative of this book, it is Morris's constant apologies for his trysts with the prostitute. It's a refreshing stand--to admit his wrongdoing, apologize for it, and recognize that he hurt others more than he hurt himself. But it was such a constant refrain in the book as to detract from its overall impact. Still, the book is insightful not only into the 1996 campaign but also into campaign strategy in general. It is a fascinating read.
Snowing the Electorate Against All Odds.......2003-08-15
Clinton's use of television advertising in his 1996 reelection bid was unprecedented in American history. Political consultant Dick Morris was highly influential in managing this campaign, and retracing his collaboration with the Clintons back to the Arkansas gubernatorial campaigns, he peeks inside Clinton and his White House.
Morris was also the one who gave the American political world 'triangulation'. If (as he insists too many times) triangulation is not really shaping of policy by polling but merely the shaping of presentation by polling, it would still be terribly disingenuous toward the voter. But I think even he realizes that cherry-picking other people's policies in order to win elections is not leadership.
In fact, a lack of leadership is indicative of the Clinton White House itself. According to Morris, Clinton suffers from a chronic inability to fire under- or misperforming members of his staff (inadvertently giving another clue as to who really was responsible for firing the travel office staff). He creates chaos and infighting, then drifts around waiting for someone to move in his direction whom he then supports. Morris describes a permanent near state of war between White House chief of staff Leon Panetta and deputies Harold Ickes and Erskine Bowles. Such is the manner that Clinton exerts control.
But then he isn't much of a team player-- he even keeps Morris out of sight from his staff because he wanted him to himself. Later, paranoia erupts when Clinton accuses Morris of hogging Al Gore, and fearing abandonment by his boss, Gore accuses Clinton of the same.
Clinton spent an astounding $85 million in his reelection campaign. In the previous presidential election, both candidates spent less than half that amount. Obviously this war chest drained an enormous amount of time and energy from Clinton's other job as president. Quoting Clinton: "I can't think. I can't act. I can't do anything but go to fund-raisers and shake hands. You want me to issue executive orders; I can't focus on a thing but the next fund-raiser. Hillary can't, Al can't-- we're all getting sick and crazy because of it."
Interestingly, Clinton doesn't even watch television news-- or read newspapers, with the exception of the New York Times and Washington Post op-ed pages.
Morris describes the reason for not supporting a cut in the capital gains tax. Their own experts had agreed with President Ronald Reagan's rationale that such a cut not only would not cost anything but would even raise revenue, but they still opposed it because it would make them look "too Republican." So they screwed American workers for cosmetics' sake. He describes Clinton's strategy to pass a welfare reform bill to help his election, but then force changes in it after being locked into the White House. Morris has many good words for Trent Lott, but being a good Senator couldn't save him from being lambasted over an off-hand remark at Strom Thurmond's centenary.
Not much is mentioned about foreign affairs, but what is doesn't speak well for Clinton's grasp of it. On the victory of Prime Minister Netanyahu in the 1996 Israeli elections, Clinton flatly concludes that the "Israelis are not ready for peace," forgetting that following countless terror attacks on its citizens after the disastrous Clinton-sponsored Israeli/Palestinian peace agreements, Israelis voted Netanyahu in office precisely because he was the only one who could credibly bring peace.
Sooner or later everyone strays into Hillary's dark side, and Morris commits the sin of recounting how she wanted a swimming pool in their taxpayer-funded Arkansas governor's mansion. It is fairly amusing to read the fawning and sycophantic groveling he had to endure to be restored in her favor.
Behind the White House is a fairly interesting read, though it suffers from sloppy editing. Are "honesty, honor, reliability" really adjectives in the Democratic lexicon? It has its share of political correctness: why does 'Arab terrorists' need quotes? Truman 'lost' China, but Clinton didn't want to lose Russia.
Dick Morris seems a generally honorable professional who is good at what he does, though I'm left to wonder whether this is good for the electorate or the country. In order to raise the astronomical amounts of cash needed for the marketing of what Morris calls the "first fully advertised presidency in US history," Clinton by his own admission was incapacitated from his duties. As we now know, the methods used to raise the cash were illegal, sometimes damaging to our national security, and always reprehensible.
The political genius.......2003-06-18
The undisputed master of polling, political stratagem, geopolitical sagacity, and, er... prostitutes writes an amazingly candid look into the Clinton White House worth reading years later. Morris chronicles his triangulation strategy that unfortunately led to Clinton's improbable 2nd term. Morris operated largely in secret as "Charlie" over the phone and later in and out of the East Wing while Clinton's staff worked separately in the West Wing.
Morris tells how Clinton instructs Morris to continue with the subterfuge to avoid the largely ineffective and overly quarrelsome Leon Panetta and Harold Ickes. Without Morris and his insight, Clinton no doubt would not have signed the Republican-sponsored Welfare Reform Act and would have lost in 1996. Morris, who is a foot shorter than Clinton, was tackled by Clinton while in Arkansas, only later to be consoled by Hillary as she told him that Bill only does that to people he loves. With friends like that...
Book Description
A Tale of Brazen Politics that also Charts an Extraordinary Choice and a Journey of Personal Redemption
How a small-town Arkansas woman became a nationally known felon is one of the most fascinating and unexamined legacies of the Clinton presidency. Born to a U.S. Army sergeant and his Belgian bride, Susan Henley was one of seven children in a boisterous Arkansas family; in her teens, she regularly made patriotic speeches at her local American Legion hall. In 1976, she married Jim McDougal, a mercurial entrepreneur, who soon turned their life into a rolling sideshow of bank acquisitions and real estate deals, including one fatefully dubbed Whitewater.
In the mid-1990s, Susan McDougal unexpectedly found herself facing federal prosecutors who represented Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. They offered her a deal—relief from legal jeopardy that included Whitewater charges in exchange for damaging information on Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Initially willing to answer prosecutors' questions, she soon realized that if she did testify truthfully, she'd be opening herself to a possible perjury trap by contradicting Starr's chief witnesses: the felonious former judge, David Hale, who, it was later revealed, received financial support from the Clinton-hating right-wing millionaire, Richard Mellon Scaife; and Jim McDougal, by then her ex-husband, who had also cut a deal with Starr. Frightened, depressed, and facing financial ruin, in an extraordinary act of courage she simply refused to testify—and was immediately slapped with civil contempt and incarcerated. Though imprisonment was meant to coerce her cooperation, twenty-one months in seven jails—including a hellish seven-week stint in lockdown 23-hours per day in a Plexiglas-enclosed, soundproof cell—failed to extort from her the testimony Starr hoped for.
Now McDougal breaks her silence. In this long-awaited book, she examines the life choices she has made as she narrates her story in a candid and wry voice. She also offers fresh anecdotes about the Clintons' early years in politics, a close-up view of Starr's sinister investigation, and a moving portrait of what happens to women in American prisons. For millions of Americans who believe that Starr, appointed by Republicans dissatisfied with the first Whitewater prosecutor, pushed his investigation too far, Susan McDougal remains the very embodiment of the ordinary citizen whose liberty is usurped by a coercive government.
The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk stands boldly as a cautionary tale for all Americans eager to hear a voice speak truths about our government louder and more fully than the media ever does, because they've been learned firsthand and at great personal sacrifice.
Customer Reviews:
Should be in "Profiles in Courage", but wrong decade..........2007-09-29
It is now 2007. I bought this book in Feb. 2003. Even now, if someone were to ask me who I would list among the most couragous individuals of my generation, I would place first Susan McDougal.
Yes, there are many lately who have actually died, but I am impressed with Susan because she could have gotten out of it so easily and she chose the narrow path.
Many people here have said that every American should read this book. I agree, but want to go one step further. This should be REQUIRED READING in every high school in America, with discussions of students/teachers about what happened and why. We don't seem to understand anymore that this Democracy/Republic we have is a fragile thing and is premised on the balance of powers-each section balancing and working together for the good of all.
We don't have to agree, but WE DO HAVE TO PLAY NICE. Playing nice is exactly what DID NOT HAPPEN with the Republicans during the Clinton administration. Susan's experience should be an historic example of what can take place, even in a Democracy, when there is enough money and power at stake and the people don't use their own eyes and voices.
We must all be vigiliant that one party does not get the sort of cart-blanche that the Republicans enjoyed for so long. Please people, everything we stand for is at stake.
... and no, I am not a Democrat.
Courage to Refuse to Commit Perjury.......2007-09-16
Robert Fiske, the original independent counsel, found no evidence of wrongdoing by Bill or Hillary Clinton, and being a man of integrity, he so reported. The Republicans then had him replaced with Kenneth Starr, who cared little about the truth in his quest to nail the Clintons.
Susan McDougal was between a rock and a very hard place. The Office of the Independent Counsel (OIC) was demanding her testimony against President Clinton, and made it clear that only testimony incriminating Bill and/or Hillary Clinton was acceptable. Because Kenneth Starr's OIC was interested only in nailing the Clintons, Susan was led to believe that she would be charged with perjury if she told the unacceptable truth that she knew of no wrongdoing by the Clintons.
Faced with the choice of telling the truth and being jailed for perjury (since her lawyers were no match for the OIC's), or committing perjury to gain her own freedom, she refused to testify, and was jailed for civil contempt, and when she had been in jail for nearly 18 months (the maximum time for civil contempt) the OIC charged her with criminal contempt and obstruction of justice in retribution for her refusal to commit the perjury they wanted.
The story of Susan's jail time, and her reasons for believing that the OIC intervened to make her jail conditions as cruel as possible, should be read by every American.
Interesting human insight into the Whitewater trial.......2004-11-21
This book is an autobiography of McDougal, tracing her family life, her 8-year marriage at 20 to then 35-year-old Jim McDougal, her divorce, her ongoing conflict with the Office of the Independent Council in the investigation of Whitewater, her time in jail, her trial in California for theft from Zubin and Nancy Mehta, and the brief aftermath of her court- and jail-oriented life.
Whatever the reader believes McDougal's guilt to be in Whitewater, Madison Guaranty and the Mehta cases, she seems to have a bigger problem of attaching herself to people who need her, but don't care about her. Her husband, an untreated manic-depressive for his adult life, was an entrepreneur, mostly, it seems, because he couldn't keep his attention on anything long enough to settle into a long-term endeavour. He was constantly starting up businesses, real estate deals and companies, banks and financial institutions, losing interest and committing himself to something else just when it was crunch time. Leaving Susan in charge against her will, and apparently against her natural abilities, the businesses would fail due to lack of attention and follow-through. According to the book, the Clinton investment in Whitewater, was a partnership in just such an undertaking. The $300,000 small business loan she signed for from David Hale, she writes, was another example of what she usually did: she did what Jim McDougal told her to do and believed it was the right thing to do. With Nancy Mehta, she writes, she again attached herself to someone needy and mercurial, and who would, when it suited her, turn on and betray the author out of spite and malice.
The book traces the Whitewater investigation in some detail and Jim McDougal's part in the issues at hand, and I am not going to do that here. Where this book resonates is in how she seemed to be maliciously prosecuted by Starr and the OIC. They insisted that she offer them information on the Clintons, and if she did, they would give her "blanket immunity," which included the Mehta charges in California. Though she considered giving them what they wanted to hear, others had and had been paid "walking around money," etc., and had many of their crimes forgiven, a friend told her, "Susan, if you do this, you will be lying for the rest of your life." And that's why she went to jail for civil contempt for 18 months and then withstood a trial on criminal contempt after the impeachment trial of Clinton was over.
The interesting thing about this book was highlighted to me when I told a friend about what I was reading, and he said, "Why would she testify against her friends?" People seem to have an idea that she was staunchly protecting the Clintons, who were her close friends, but that is not the case, according to her book. She knew them through Jim McDougal, who'd been an Arkansas political operative, but she was not close to either Bill or Hillary. She does not maintain contact with them after her marriage, and, frankly, never got along that well with Hillary, whom she found to be withdrawn and perhaps cold at times. She heard about her presidential pardon for the Whitewater guilty verdicts on television. She refused to testify, not to help them but because she felt it would be wrong for her to lie to the OIC to save herself, because she didn't know anything that the Clintons had done wrong, and because she had seen what the OIC did to people who didn't testify in the way that they wanted (perjury charges, etc.).
The time that McDougal spent in jail is well detailed and focuses on the women in jail and their sad situations. She found most of the women to have come from violent and sexually abusive situations, where they had left home or been taken from their homes and had become a kind of detritus of humanity. She writes movingly of the sad case of an Arkansas woman who was convicted of killing her children and was executed, presenting a human and loving picture of the mother, that reminded me of Sister Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking.
This is all an underlying theme to McDougal's book, her religious beliefs based on love and charity, rather than heavy "justice" and judgment. The religious hypocrisy of the OIC attorneys and associates sickens her, as they make "the walkin' around folks'" lives miserable and then speak in press interviews about how they pray whilst jogging, etc. Whatever you think of McDougal, that she was a serial grifter, that she hooked on too hard to people who weren't worthy of trust and was manipulated, that she is "spinning" her own part in all these issues, a lively and compelling portrait of a woman who cares for "the least among us" surfaces in this book in an amazing way.
Because I live in Arkansas, I found the book to be loaded with "local color" and information. I recommend it.
Emotional catharsis.......2004-09-27
I was disposed to like Whitewater figure and Kenneth Starr nemesis Susan McDougal before I ever read her book and have long felt that a justice system which rewards those who tell prosecutors what they want to hear (immunity, plea bargaining) and penalizes those who insist on their innocence or their right to a jury trial, is flawed. So I'm not exactly unbiased. But who is?
The first part of McDougal's emotionally engaging narrative covers childhood, then marriage to real estate developer and founder of the ill-fated Madison Guaranty S&L, Jim McDougal. The Marriage and various businesses failed and she embarked on a romance with Madison Guaranty employee then lawyer, Pat Harris, and a claustrophobic employee/friend relationship with Nancy Mehta.
Outgoing and shy, loud and retiring, depending on the company, McDougal does not come across as the sort of person to go to jail rather than answer questions. One minute her life is going along willy nilly, from one controlling, needy, demanding personality to another, when wham! Suddenly neurotic, vesuvial Mehta is charging her with grand larceny and the Office of the Independent Counsel is offering dire threats and deliverance from all - including the Mehta charges, which hardly seems within their purview. Friendly and likable, McDougal seems primarily characterized by her optimistic naivety. She even looks forward to her first session with the OIC: "I felt that there were a lot of false statements and ridiculous rumors, particularly about Madison, that I could help clear up."
But her get-out-of-jail-free card comes with a catch - testimony against the Clintons. McDougal does a fine job of describing her flabbergasted outrage and her dawning awareness of the trap closing around her. Aghast after the first Whitewater trial when she was convicted of things "I was not even aware had happened until ten years later," McDougal begins to fear the OIC will stop at nothing to get Clinton. It was not bravery, she says again, that made her clam up, but the certainty that Starr would indict her for perjury if she insisted on the truth - she didn't know anything bad about the Clintons. She knew she might go to jail for contempt, but she never dreamed it would be for the full 18 months allowable by law.
The second half - prison - is riveting, horrifying and inspiring. Her first jail was easy, comparatively. The food was lousy, but she made friends. The worst hardship was lack of reading material - the only book inmates were allowed was the Bible. But no sooner does she say on the phone, " `I could do the whole eighteen months here,' " than she's whisked off to a mental ward in a federal facility and from there to lockdown (23 hours a day solitary confinement) on "Murderer's Row". There were seven prisons in all, but however bad things got (sadistic guards, overflowing toilets, body cavity searches, sensory deprivation) McDougal always found some interest to sustain her - usually one or more of the inmates who, needless to say, all had lives immeasurably worse than hers.
On her release, the OIC filed criminal contempt and obstruction of justice charges against her and she still had the Mehta charges to face. Triumphing against both, McDougal spares an ounce of sympathy for Nancy Mehta, but her flush of victory against Starr and the OIC is unadulterated glee and great fun to read. In the end, McDougal says jail was good for her. She still hates the people who put her there and believes they were behind many of the special humiliations and privations she endured, but "there's no doubt in my mind that I'm a far better person than I was before."
Spiked with emotional peaks and valleys, McDougal's memoir is compulsively readable - and believable.
Brave, special, rare person.......2004-08-25
I admire this women for the strenght , courage, and integrity that is almost impossiable to find. An extrodinary lady that deserves the best in life.
Average customer rating:
- Very shallow, and very much a facade
- My students love these books!
- Not Recommended For Educators
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Gangs and Your Friends (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs.)
Stanley Tookie Williams , and
Barbara Cottman Becnel
Manufacturer: PowerKids Press
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Life in Prison
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Gangs and Violence (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs.)
ASIN: 082392341X |
Customer Reviews:
Very shallow, and very much a facade.......2005-12-16
I find it interesting that the author would make such a wonderful effort to help children, after having murdered parents. I wonder if he sent autographed free copies to the children of the people he murdered.
I also find it interesting, that in over 20 years on death row, he was only able to write a handful of "children's books".
That these books would find their way into our public school systems, where this man takes on the role of Martyr and Folk Hero, speaks volumes about our schools.
The book is as shallow as the man who wrote it.
My students love these books!.......2005-11-30
I do not have to ask my students to read these books, they ask me IF I will let them read them! I have seven of this series, as well as his autobiographical "Life in Prison". We have been reading the books and looking up current information on the internet. The students are learning much from Tookie's mistakes and are pledging to not follow in his footsteps. I am hopeful that this is a lesson they will carry with them throughout life.
Not Recommended For Educators.......1997-11-24
I am a gang and youth violence expert working with the San Diego County Office of Education, Safe Schools Unit. I have alerted many of our schools about the series of books by Stanley "Tookie" Williams. I do not recommend the purchase of this book. The content of the books are not appropriate for young people. The images of gangs are not accurate (Too much negative sterotyping). The book is written in a simplistic style that will quickly bore young students. Youth need to critically examine information not be talked down to. You may email me for alternate suggestions for gang prevention books for youth.
Average customer rating:
- Not an expert
- Tremors through life and nature
- the not so gay 90's
- Super
- Heartrending, insightful, excellent mystery
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The Death of Friends
Michael Nava
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Burning Plain
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ASIN: 039913977X |
Amazon.com
The latest Henry Rios mystery finds Michael Nava's gay Mexican-American lawyer under severe stress as he defends an L.A. street hustler. One of Rios's former lovers has been murdered; another is nearing death from AIDS. Nava strives for emotional depth and social relevance in his tough tales, told with Chandler-esque language. Rios describes himself best: "I was a magnet for the desperate, frightened and reviled, who somehow or other had heard about the fag lawyer who was a sap for a sad story."
Customer Reviews:
Not an expert.......2007-08-12
Too bad Michael Nava was never really appreciated. I won't assume why he remained in the shadows of mystery writers. All I can say is that when I read "all" his books, each was a "can't put down" one. I recommend you read them in the order of their original publications. You should follow the main character from start to finish. I hope Mr. Nava returns to writing soon.
Tremors through life and nature.......2007-08-08
Michael Nava seems to get better and better with each new book. The Death of Friends begins with an earthquake, a very LA way to start, and the novel is as much about the tremors running through Henry's life as it is about the mystery of who killed his law school friend, Judge Chris Chandler. Chandler, about to come out of the closet, leaves behind a grieving widow, an angry son and a scared lover. Henry pursues the truth while taking care of Josh, his former lover, now dying of AIDS. A strong, moving book, with an interesting mystery and a caring heart.
Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)
the not so gay 90's.......2000-08-27
murder case in l.a.'s gay community.author shows the tragedy of a.i.d.s without being morbid. smooth style,sensitive tone and steady pacing.
Super.......2000-02-08
Michael Nava is a super writer. This is the second one of his series I have read, and it is a great mystery as well as filled with real life emotion. A can't put it down kind of story. Plus some really great courtroom scenes. John Grisham, eat your heart out. This guy can write better than you.
Heartrending, insightful, excellent mystery.......1999-09-22
Wow! I became Henry Rios as I read this story and was touched by his humanity and sensibility. Michael Nava just gets better with each of his books. This one shines a light on what it means to live your entire life in the closet and the impact on yourself, your family, your friends when you decide to step into the light. Yet it is done in the context of a compelling mystery peopled by real characters with real emotions. Nava manages to make nothing look contrived. At the end of his story you know these people and what makes them tick. And most importantly you want to know more about the fine human being that Henry Rios is.
This novel also rips your heart out whether or not you have known anyone who has died of AIDS. The caregiver's travail is not minimized but not exaggerated either. Through Nava's skillful storytelling you know just what it is like to stand by helplessly and watch someone you love fade out of your life. You know what it is like to get up the next days and weeks and go on with your own life.
This novel is much more than a simple mystery, although it is an excellent mystery novel. It is an insightful look at what it means to be gay in today's world, both upbeat and downbeat. This is a book to give to friends and to reread.
Book Description
Betrayed ...
Andy Jenkins and Neil Freemount have been best friends for years. They hang out together, double-date, and help each other math their homework.
But bully Charlie Cashman sets out to make life miserable for Andy, just because Andy is black. First Andy finds trash in his locker. Then his girlfriend is taunted, and he is pushed around in the school parking lot. Neil wants to help his best friend, but suddenly Andy turns against him, and Neil doesn't know why. The two boys are about to face the greatest challenge of their lives. Can their friendship survive the test?
Average customer rating:
- Friends for Life/Darkening Echoes
- Wonderful summer quick read!
- Engrossing, intelligent & unconventional mystery
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Friends for Life
Carol Smith
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Five women from vastly different social spheres meet by chance in a London hospital: Catherine, a timid young British receptionist in a veterinarian's office; Georgy, an aggressive American photographer who traveled to London to make her career; Vivienne, a jaded British socialite in an unhappy marriage; Sally, an Australian free spirit whose travels have led her to London for the time being, and Beth, a divorcee, successful London caterer, and mother of a young girl. Despite the random nature of their meeting, in the intimacy of the hospital these women share bits and pieces of their lives, and we learn that Georgy is pursuing Beth's ex-husband, Beth is seeing Vivienne's husband on the side, and Vivienne has designs on Catherine's employer. In spite of these overlaps, the women are fond of one another, and keep in touch after they are discharged. However, it is the tragic death of young Catherine that really brings the remaining four together. And when an attempt is made on Georgy's life, the group grows closer still. As they try to uncover the would-be assassin, everyone's lives are in danger until the stunning climax in which they discover the murderer comes from the place they least expect . . . from within.
Customer Reviews:
Friends for Life/Darkening Echoes.......2003-03-22
This book was also published in the U.K. under the title "Darkening Echoes".
Wonderful summer quick read!.......1998-06-21
I enjoyed this book immensely. The weave of characters and their lives amongst the murder and mystery was very well done. Carol Smith wrote a fine story. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and also wants to "get involved" with the characters lives. I will read her work again.
Engrossing, intelligent & unconventional mystery.......1997-04-23
I read this book under the British title "Darkening Echoes". An intelligent, compelling and shocking mystery, while not literary, it is written a notch above popular fiction. The main characters are three- dimensional and psychological sleuthing (on the part of the reader) is possible. It is totally unconventional within its genre and this is what gives it room to develop the characters in a way seldom found in mystery novels. You neither know until well into the book who is to be murdered or yet who is the murderer or even if there definitely will be a murder although presuming there will be is part of the tension as you read the book. This is a delicious read and I firmly hope that this book is not watered down or altered to the lowest common denominator of American reader that only seeks escapism, blood, sensationalism or mindless comedy as T.V. producers often do when trying to adapt British material for the target American audience These characters are identifiable as real and ordinary people and thus easy to get involved with and care about. The female characters are strong and should not be offensive to women with a disgust for traditional romantic plots that demean or trivialize women. I give it a 9 in its genre. Only P.D.James, and Peter Ackroyd and established literary mystery classics rate a 10.
I am eagerly waiting for her next book "Kensington Court" publ. Apr 97 by Little, Brown in the U.K. and hope that you publish this as well & don't have to order her next book
all the way from Britain. P.S. There was a long waiting list at my library in Canada for "Friends for Life" a.k.a. "Darkening Echoes"
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