Hindsight: Boris Vallejo : His Photographic Art

Customer Reviews:

Derriere Views.......2001-03-30

The famous fantasy artist Boris Vallejo has produced here his photographic "homage to one single body part." In doing so, he expresses his "undying fascination with the human body" in this "tribute to female beauty."

This book contains nudity that would exceed an R rating in a motion picture.

Derrieres. What can I say about them? My guess would be that you either find them interesting to look at . . . or you don't. If you are in the first category, read on. If in the second, look elsewhere.

There are more angles and ways to picture derrieres than I would have imagined before reviewing this book. As a result, there is minimal repetition in the images portrayed here.

Mr. Vallejo primarily photographs to create images for drawing his illustrations. So for the most part these images don't have a lot else going on. They are basically partial body studies. As such, they are unretouched and unfiltered so you see the flaws very clearly (whether scars, stretch marks, blemishes, or whatever). A few have props or interesting poses, but for the most part you can imagine you are taking close-up views of classical statuary from the midpoint of the body in the rear.

As usual, Mr. Vallejo does not name, identify, or number the pages so it is hard to refer to the individual works. I will do my best here in order to give you a better view of what's in the book.

Most of the models are Mr. Vallejo's usuals (including his wife) and are body-builders. But there are also some nonbody-building women in the collection of images. Certainly, body-building seems to have a large impact on the shape and tautness of that area of the anatomy. He uses very few models here, so the images do get a little repetitive from that perspective.

The images are in both color and black-and-white. The images on the facing pages sometimes have interesting dialogues with one another, and sometimes the dialogue doesn't quite work.

The book would have been better with a little more editing. With about 30 fewer of the weakest images removed, a fine essay, and some references to the images, this would have been a five-star book. You can simply skip over those weaker images (once you identify them for yourself), and make the book more interesting for yourself.

Here are my favorites (as best I can describe them without being too lengthy, and in the order they appear in the book):

on point (standing on toes like a ballerina) (b & w)

streamers dangling from head with hand on hip (b & w)

elaborate dragon tattoos on back and derriere (color)

lying on hip on the beach (color)

dress pulled down around thighs (b & w)

wet derriere (b & w)

turned to right with hand on hip (color)

brunette with hands on back of neck with two dimples above the derriere (color)

fully dressed blonde in tight white pants and tall boots (color)

brunette with pearls and gloves (color)

brunette with dark glasses and standing against red background (color)

holding metal bar vertically (color)

cover on head, one shoulder raised against blue/purple background (color)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose what makes this book most unusual is that it addresses a part of our anatomy that it is hard for us to see, except on others. Does that change our perspective? I think so. I suspect it makes us more objective.

After you finish viewing these images, my suggestion is that you take some body part that appeals to you (whether eyes, ears, neck, arms, or whatever) and take a few days to notice them on everyone you see. This will be good experience in helping you become more observant, as well as letting you develop your taste. After you have done this with one area, try it with another one. Keep doing it until you find yourself capturing the personality of people better through what you can observe in these ways. Be sure to consider posture as one of your views.

Get past the surface, to the reality within, through careful observation!

Nice photoes...some great....a few sorta cheesy.......2000-01-01

While overall the photoes were terrific, I was a bit turned off by the few images of the woman in jeans and boots. A bit too "hicky" for my taste, and all you really saw was...well, a woman in jeans. Also, it appears all the "tushes" are of women. Sometimes I get tired of people only thinking the female form is beautiful. Men are beautiful too.

Boris Vallejo is the perfect person to do a butt book........1999-04-05

I was lucky enough to interview this artistic genius many years ago, and it's great to see that his talent keeps expanding. Boris has a passion for the derriere, epitomized by his paintings but also perfectly represented in this collection of his photographs. If you're a fanny fan, this book is for you.

A Must for Art Fans-- he's on Pg 4.......1999-01-21

Arse, Butt, Behind, Fanny, perhaps even 'the Shanks'; call it what you like, this book is 100 pictures of it. The photography is beautiful-- some of the images are so true-to-life you feel as if you could reach out and touch them. They're all beautifully lit, and any serious student of art, photography, or proctology would do well to spend some time poring over the varying subjects depicted here, especially #'s 17, 44, & 61, which, I feel, are testament to the ever-constant pathos of man. Looking through this book at all the asses--love 'em or hate 'em--you'll find you just have to have one. Makes a great coffee table book, as your guests will undoubtedly regard it with wonder.

The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making

Average customer rating:

Very good introductory decision making textbook
Solid Introductory Text on Social Psychology
Judging Judgment and Decision Making
Scott Plous is a star. This is an inspiring text that had my brain popping.
A lot of materials in this Great Book

The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making
Scott Plous
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
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ASIN: 0070504776

Book Description

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING offers a comprehensive introduction to the field with a strong focus on the social aspects of decision making processes. Winner of the prestigious William James Book Award, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING is an informative and engaging introduction to the field written in a style that is equally accessible to the introductory psychology student, the lay person, or the professional. A unique feature of this volume is the Reader Survey which readers are to complete before beginning the book. The questions in the Reader Survey are drawn from many of the studies discussed throughout the book, allowing readers to compare their answers with the responses given by people in the original studies. This title is part of The McGraw-Hill Series in Social Psychology.

Customer Reviews:

Very good introductory decision making textbook.......2007-07-13

This textbook is so well-written that it is a a great pleasure to read! I love this book, although there are a few things to be noticed:
1. Coverage is a not as inclusive as it could be.
2. A little old - I wish there were a second edition or something.
3. Tracing references is a little difficult.

Solid Introductory Text on Social Psychology.......2007-06-17

If you are interested in getting a glimpse into the way people make decisions under ambiguous, complex, or non-linear conditions, this book is a good place to start. I only gave it four stars, however, because it failed to leave me with a strong impression. Many experiments are covered, but there's little in the way of practical application or insight.

The book starts out with a 12 page reader survey, which I encourage you to skip. It took me an hour to complete, but didn't add anything to my grasp of the material. The author uses it to prevent hindsight bias, which I experienced vividly when telling my sister about one of the experiments covered in the book. "Of course," she said, like the whole concept was so obvious that the average idiot has already figured it out. That's hindsight bias.

Another interesting concept is attitude-behavior inconsistency. One example is the road trip a psychologist took with a Chinese couple in the 1930's when anti-Chinese sentiment was prevalent in the U.S. In the vast majority of cases the couple was treated quite well. After the trip, the psychologist anonymously contacted the places they had stayed at, and asked if Chinese people were accommodated. The vast majority of responses were, "No." Another example of attitude-behavior inconsistency given is when Seminary students on their way to give a speech on being a Good Samaritan ignored a person in an alley dressed as a bum who was coughing and moaning.

Another interesting concept was social loafing, which demonstrated that a person working in a threesome will expend 85% of the effort they would expend if working alone.

There were a few examples in the book, however, that seem to demonstrate a lack of understanding on the author's part. One was the experiment that demonstrated that doctors could be easily misled into diagnosing the odds of a tumor being malignant at 75% rather than the true probability of 7%. This is a fascinating result with practical implications, but this topic was not explored in detail, leaving me feeling quite unsatisfied. This is the second book that has handled this experiment superficially, unfortunately.

Another example was the chart showing weather forecasters versus doctors. The author commented that weather forecasters were more accurate than doctors in their predictions, contrary to popular opinion. In reality, the chart demonstrated that weather forecasters are much more aware of their limitations than are doctors, because they get immediate feedback regarding their predictive failures, and are therefore much less confident regarding their predictive abilities than are doctors who often do not receive such feedback.

The main takeaway I got from this book was that it is possible to make better decisions, if one listens to contrary opinions, and by empathizing with those who hold them. This exercise may not change your decision, but it will help minimize common biases and decision-making errors.

The author does a nice job at the end of letting readers know that even psychological researchers are prone to making many of the judgment errors discussed in the book. He also provides a list of books for further reading, including one of my favorites, How We Know What Ain't So by Gilovich. The Gilovich book is definitely my first recommendation for anyone just starting to explore this fascinating field.

Judging Judgment and Decision Making .......2005-10-18

A decade ago Scott Plous produced a very readable summary of research in social psychology and (what is now known as) behavioral economics.
Our understanding of how people actually behave (as opposed to our theories as to how they should behave) has been immeasurably enriched by work dating (variously) from Herbert Simon, Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, Stanley Milgram and many others.
Management education has yet to fully take into account the many insights coming from psychologists, experimental economists and others so nicely summarized in this book.

Scott Plous is a star. This is an inspiring text that had my brain popping........2005-09-19

I write this from the perspective of a social and market researcher, and thought I was quite aware of many of the nuances and pitfalls that can render our scientific research somewhat open to question. But Scott Plous, with his vivid, lively writing style, his acute logic and well chosen case studies shows what a hell of a minefield it is that we work in. The Psychology of Judgment and Decisionmaking is a rich resource book of human insight that is at once vitally useful (this book has opened me up to new insights and led me to rethink many aspects of research design) and awfully humbling: there's a pair of pie charts on Page 54 that show that whatever questions we may have about margins of error, the way we happen to phrase the question may well have a much larger effect.

In total, Plous entertains, he shares wise insights and he challenges the reader. I wish Amazon had room for 6 stars. I'd give this one 7.

A lot of materials in this Great Book.......2005-07-05

This is a very dense book, relatively easy to read, and very2 helpful. I love Blink and The Tipping Point, but this book probably has much much more materials, arguably more than 5 times of inside that those two best sellers combined.

I am very interested in the popular psycology stuffs, and Influence by Cialdini is my fav. So this book in some way give you the same chockful of surprises and new insight that will change the way you think.

I came across recomended by a University of Chicago MBA -email friend- who has much similar books favourites and he recomended this highly, and i absolutely agree and i would be glad to recommend this to anyone interested in human behaviour and psychology of bias.

MBA students should read this one and surely will enjoy this. I always draw, marks and put notes on my book and i think i end up marking so much of the materials.

Section one: Perception, Memory and Context
Section two: How Questions affect answers
Section three: Model of Decision making
Section Four: Heurictis and Biases.
Section five: The Social side of judgment and decision making
Section six: Common traps.

Some will complain that this book derived from a lot of previous psychological research, i agree, so for the psychology veteran out there, this might not the right book for you, but for most of us, this book will enlight, entertain and amuse us all...

Here's to Hindsight: Letters to My Former Self

Average customer rating:

Encouraging Read :-)
Super Book!
Here's to Tara!
Simply a must ! You will be blessed
Try it on a road trip

Here's to Hindsight: Letters to My Former Self
Tara Leigh Cobble
Manufacturer: Relevant Books
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0976817594

Customer Reviews:

Encouraging Read :-).......2007-09-09

A friend gave me this book several months ago. I'm just sorry that I didn't read it sooner than July/August. Here's to Hindsight is a great read as the author honestly represents herself as a Christian and details her path. Tara is both encouraging and inspiring. A good reminder that we are never alone.

Super Book!.......2007-06-14

this book is amazing. I have literally read it 11 times since it came out in october of 2006. it is great for everyone. i have given out at least 25 copies as well. I am a huge fan of this book and this author! i can't wait for her second book!!

Here's to Tara!.......2007-06-08

Here's to Hindsight is one woman's refreshingly honest look at herself and Christian life. In reflecting on her music career so far, Tara doesn't shy away from difficult subjects, which makes her book all the more valuable. It is also super funny - she's got a great sense of humor and irony. If you're looking for a good read and an inspiring story that will make you laugh and cry but still never gets too sappy, go for it. Here's to Hindsight is really fabulous! And so is Tara Leigh. :)

Simply a must ! You will be blessed.......2007-05-17

Awesome!! This book touch my spirit in a profound way because Tara Leigh is refreshingly honest and her wonderful sense of humor will make you laugh out loud. This book has so much to offer for everyone because so many people can relate in one way or another. Have you ever been in love? Have you ever had a broken heart or faced with trials that you did not think you were going to survive or challenged physically, mentally and spiritually? Then You can relate!! It is a great "MYTHBUSTER" to what some think that the "perfect" christian walk is like, circumstances are not always pleasant however with God by your side you are never alone and He always makes a way through when there is no other way when you trust in Him and this book brings that point home quite nicely.

You will walk with Tara Leigh through times of great happiness in life to being stretched through painful trials, it will touch every emotion that you have but more importantly it will minister to your spirit. It will cause you to think about your own life and leaves you with a question, are you trusting God? When times are great or not so great God is always there and He will never leave you. I strongly recommend not only the book but the CD's as well You will be blessed immensely. Tara Leigh, what an awesome woman of God and you will be blessed through her sincerity, humor and her faith in Christ. If you ever get the chance to meet her at one of her concerts your life will be changed!!

Try it on a road trip.......2007-05-16

Outrageous. You will not put this one down. I promise.
A friend asked me to read it "out loud" on a road trip. 3 hours and 238 miles later we found ourselves in North Charleston with a new best friend. Needless to say I'm looking forward to more road trips with TLC!

Hunting Retrievers: Hindsights Foresights Insights

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Hunting Retrievers: Hindsights Foresights Insights
James B. Spencer
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ASIN: 0931866405

Hindsight: 30 Of the World's Leading Designers Give Their Personal Responses to Some of the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Graphic Design

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Hindsight: 30 Of the World's Leading Designers Give Their Personal Responses to Some of the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Graphic Design

Manufacturer: Fine Art Publishing
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9057033410

Principles of Outer Space Law in Hindsight

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Principles of Outer Space Law in Hindsight
H. Wassenbergh
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Hindsights: The Wisdom and Breakthroughs of Remarkable People

Average customer rating:

Most influential people are screened for life lessons
Bland and unremarkable
Guy's Emotional Side

Hindsights: The Wisdom and Breakthroughs of Remarkable People
Guy Kawasaki
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0446671150

Customer Reviews:

Most influential people are screened for life lessons.......2007-05-09

I read a lot of Kawasaki, in print and in his Blog. He shares a lot of wisdom, and in the volume of writing there are many jewels of wisdom in this survey of some of the most influential people of modern times. Guy says, "A CEO has two main jobs: to live in the future and to pick good people."
Good job, Guy.
Jon

Bland and unremarkable.......2004-01-08

I'm a big fan of Kawasaki. Hindsights is, however, a disappointment. The stories are bland. The insights are cliché - Never give up. Be Honest. Believe in your dream.

Each chapter is about a different person and their wisdom and breakthroughs. However, the chapters are too short and too superficial to draw you in and make you care about the person, which makes their revelations seem unremarkable. It's a great idea for a book, but it's poorly executed in this offering.

Guy's Emotional Side.......2002-08-12

This is in my mind Guy's best book. Paradoxically, it may be his best business book!

Average customer rating:

Closer to science fact than science fiction
Pretty neat idea and well-told story
A machine that can change the world
Well written, interesting concept

Hindsight
Peter Wright
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Island (Perennial Classics)

ASIN: 0595331424

Book Description

Everything we see is an image of the past. The more distant the object we are looking at, as a star in the night sky, the further back in the time is the image. Recovering images from the past, unlike time travel, is thus well within the laws of physics, but could civilization survive if it could be done at will?

Professor Philip Blackmore from Cambridge University, England, and Carol Dunning, a young graduate student from Cal. Tech. team up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their ambitious goal is to create an eye into the past; a machine that will let them see Leonardo da Vinci painting, Mozart composing, or Isaac Newton calculating the orbit of the planets. With funding from a secretive anonymous sponsor, the project advances rapidly. However, a series of unexplained accidents begin to plague them.

The scientists are unaware that a group dedicated to keeping the past hidden has knowledge of their project and is determined to stop it. Politicians begin to oppose them, fearing that unfettered access to the past could destabilize societies, institutions, and even presidents. Forced on the defensive, the scientists must fight to save the project, and even their lives.

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In Southampton, near Stonehenge on the south coast of England, some of the world

Customer Reviews:

Closer to science fact than science fiction.......2005-07-19

I am a techie (Silicon Valley electrical engineer, MIT grad) and never enjoyed science fiction. While Hindsight might technically be classified as sci-fi, it is not of the shoot-'em-up outer-space vintage. Rather, this novel is well grounded in physics, life on earth, and human nature. The story is entirely plausible and is well developed. Hindsight is the kind of book that makes you want to stay up to read the next chapter to see what happened.

Pretty neat idea and well-told story.......2005-05-09

Of course, it's all well and good to say that recovering images from the past is not the same as being there so it won't violate the laws of physics. *But* photons, while they have zero rest-mass, still interact with other kinds of matter and so it seems to me that removing some of them from the past would have, in principle, the potential to change the past and create paradoxes. After all, if you could remove the photons and hence prevent them from hitting the retina of some important person who, had he or she perceived them, might have ducked ... But, hey, OK, it's science fiction.

This book is a great read and good food for thought. Just don't get too attached to - or identify with - the characters who get killed off! This author (or, rather, the bad guys in his story) or BAAAAd people!

A machine that can change the world.......2005-05-09

No, it's not _The Great Gatsby_ but I gave this book 5 stars because I've always liked stories about marvelous new machines/technologies with world-changing potential and because the idea of a time machine that could simply recover images from the past is such a simple one that its surprising that no one's written a story (at least I don't think so) about it before. The author does a good job of sketching out the potential for spying, law enforcement, historical research and, yes, revisiting alleged miraculous/supernatural events including those on which major world religions were founded. Even then he's barely scratched the surface (which is all we expect a good storyteller to do).

Of course, it's all well and good to say that recovering images from the past is not the same as being there so it won't violate the laws of physics. *But* photons, while they have zero rest-mass, still interact with other kinds of matter and so it seems to me that removing some of them from the past would have, in principle, the potential to change the past and create paradoxes. After all, if you could remove the photons and hence prevent them from hitting the retina of some important person who, had he or she perceived them, might have ducked ... But, hey, OK, it's science fiction.

This book is a great read and good food for thought. Just don't get too attached to - or identify with - the characters who get killed off! This author (or, rather, the bad guys in his story) or BAAAAd people!

Well written, interesting concept.......2005-04-24

Hindsight is a interesting story about scientists who create a machine that allows them to look back in time. This simple concept is handled quite well with a mix of realistic hard science fiction and suspense that makes it hard to put down. The characters are compelling and believable and the plot twists are unexpected. Most interesting (to me, at least) is how the author delves into the far reaching effects that observing past events can have, both on individual privacy and on society as a whole. Overall this is one of the most enjoyable technothrillers I've read.

Average customer rating:

More like 3 1/2 stars...
Reunions Can Be Deadly
With Hindsight I Would have Read This Masterpiece Earlier
Great Suspense
masterful work of suspense

Hindsight: A Novel of the Class of 1972
Barbara Rogan
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743205995

Book Description

The New York Times calls Barbara Rogan "a passionate writer whose prose is as vivid as lightning bolts." Now she delivers a mesmerizing tale of a long-hidden betrayal -- and its deadly repercussions.

In the summer of 1972, on the night of their high school graduation, nine friends make a solemn vow to meet in twenty years' time. For Willa Scott, flanked by her best friend, Angel, and her boyfriend, Caleb, the future is a canvas to be painted in bold strokes and bright colors. But the ensuing decades bring change and separation. Willa becomes a biographer, and she drifts away from Caleb and Angel.

Almost twenty years later, Willa, now mother of a teenage girl herself and recently widowed, looks up during a book signing and sees Patrick Mulhaven, the bad boy of Beacon High. He reminds her of their long-ago vow and persuades her to help track down their old group. It isn't long before Willa discovers that Angel's trail after high school is ice cold. It's as if she dropped off the face of the earth. Convinced that something has happened to her friend, Willa begins a search that takes her back through the looking glass. What she thought were the idyllic friendships of her youth are revealed as a tangled web of deception, betrayal, and life-shattering secrets. As the reunion weekend approaches, Willa is convinced that someone has killed -- and will kill again -- to keep Angel's whereabouts hidden forever. But when the people you know best are the people you know least, who can you trust?

Barbara Rogan has proven herself a master of subtly evolving fear, and Hindsight delivers a spellbinding story about the powerful -- and sometimes murderous -- yearnings of the human heart.

Customer Reviews:

More like 3 1/2 stars..........2005-05-02

Ok, though I really did enjoy this book, something about it is holding me back from saying it's a four star read, however three stars doesn't seem deserving enough. I picked this book up because the premise sounded really different and interesting, which it was...and curiosity kept me reading, but I think it was how quickly the ending was wrapped up that turned me off a bit.

Nine friends stand on Beacon Hill in June of 1972, graduation day, and make a drunken promise to meet back there in 20 years for a reunion, no matter what. Well, skip now to 1992, Willa Durrell, while promoting her new book, runs into Patrick, one of the guys from the old gang, and the pair team up to get ahold of everyone to remind them about the upcoming reunion. As the two of them slowly start finding the rest of the group (who are all as different as night and day) one person cannot be found, Angel Busky. What happened in the days after graduation that no one seems to want to talk about? Did Angel really run away like everyone's though for the last 20 years, or did something awful happen to her?

As the night of the reunion draws nearer, tensions run high. They've all grown up and most have made something of themselves. Willa refuses to stop until she finds out what happened to her friend. Then one of them dies under suspicious circumstances at the reunion party. Willa finds she's now in a dangerous position as one of their own is trying to keep the past quiet. Though this book was suspenseful enough, the ending disappointed me only in how quickly everything was wrapped up. Other than that...a really good book. I was completely surprised with who the culprit turned out to be, I thought I had it figured out halfway through the book, but not at all! If you enjoy mysteries, then overall I recommend this read. Not at all a bad way to past the time.

Reunions Can Be Deadly.......2004-11-04

Yeaarly across the world, people attend reunions. Some are for large and extended families, others may be for a group of people who served in the armed forces or simply a group of fiends who haven't seen each other in some time. Probably the most popular reunion is for a high school or university class years after the attendees graduated. With this subject in mind, Barbara Rogan has written a good suspense book, Hindsight.

In 1972, during their graduation ceremony, several friends and graduates sit on a hill and watch the proceedings. From very different backgrounds and with very different plans for their futures, these students have boycotted the ceremonies when one of their friends wasn't allowed to attend the festivities. Before they part company that day, they make a vow to return to the hill in 20 years precisely June, 1992.

The years fly by and almost none of the gang have had anything to do with one another. Willa, is now a famous author and widow with a teen age daughter. During the winter of 1992, she is at a book signing in Manhattan when she runs into Patrick, a professor at New York University and one of the old high school gang. He has followed her writing career and expesses his sorrow at the loss of her prestigious husband. Then the talk turns to thier reunion pact and Patrick is very enthusiastic to find each memebr of the gang and spend the day in June together. Will hires a privare detective and one by one the members are found except for bad girl, Angel Busky. Attmept are made by Willa and Patrtick to find out what happened to Angel when she disappeared the night of gradutaion but even trying to contact her father and others who knew her proves futile. It seem as though Angel just vanished into thin air.

Then as Willa and Patrick contact their former friends, it seems as though time and distance has not been as kind to all of them. While some have achieved their goals, some habe met with frustration and disappointment and wonder if they even want ot see the old gang ever again. And then they will need to address what happened to Angel as if they can solve this 20 year old mystery.

As the friends do gather at Willa's house in June, not far from their meeting place, one can sense that all is not right with the group. There are already hostitlies, recriminations and a sense of evil pervading the surroundings. And then when one of the friends turns up dead, the others wonder if this has happened before or again. And at the very worst, is there a killer amongst them?

This was a good read although I felt as though the characters were caricatures of high school friends with rich, smart kids mixed in with bad, wrong side of the track students. By the end I thought it was rather obvious what happened to Angel all those years before. The book, which was a fast and easy read, did leave left me wondering how anybody could get away with crimes like these unless its that it makes for suspenseful reading. And finally I wondered why most peopel feel compelled to attend a reunion years later when they have had no desire to contact any of these old friends.

Tom Wolfe said it best with the title of his book, You Can't Go Home Again, and maybe it's best to live in the present with memories tucked away. Most people think twice about attending a reunion at best and after reading Hindsight you may think more than twice remembering that reunions can be deadly in more ways than one.

With Hindsight I Would have Read This Masterpiece Earlier.......2003-11-14

This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. This is better than Koontz novels, Patterson or any other spinechilling master authors. This is one of those books where you hope that nothing good is on television after you have started it because you do not want to put it down until the final page. Full of twists and surprises you will not be disappointed, get this book.

This is a superb literacy masterpiece about a group of friends who in their high school days(1972) were the closest of friends. They did not fit into the normal American stereotype groups so bonded to each other. The two best looking girls in the school were amongst them as were the guys no one wanted to mess with. Teachers hated them, they loved and were always there for each other.

It is no longer 1972 however, 20 years has almost passed and they have all moved on with their lives, some are famous or successful, others not so much. They made a drunken pact on Beacon Hill while watching the rest of their grade graduate, that they would meet again twenty years later no matter what. Now some have kids almost the same age they were back then, no one has kept in contact. Willa is a famous author now and one of her classmates approaches her at a book signing. They both remember the pact but will the others? Willa decides, along with Patrick that they should contact the others to remind them and to their surprise everyone remembers the pact and was wondering if the others do as well. Everyone that is except for Caleb and Angel who cannot be found. Willa approaches her private eye friend to find them and organises the reunion for her house. There are reasons though why some people can not be found. Sometimes they don't want to, sometimes they had no choice. One of the group knows all the answers but does not want the rest to know their evil secret. They will turn up to the reunion, after all, they do have a few days to kill!

Great Suspense.......2003-10-21

When friends from high school reunite after 20 years, it gives new meaning to the phrase "You can't go home again." A masterful work of suspense, full of red herrings and plot twists to keep you guessing until the very end. Unlike many novels of the suspense genre, Rogan fully develops Willa's character and her relationship with her daughter, Chloe. Can't wait to read her next one.

masterful work of suspense.......2003-02-15

On the night of their graduation in June of 1972, a group of students, nine in all, watch the proceedings from their hangout in Beacon hill. The tenth member of their group is the valedictorian. After the ceremonies the group vows to have a reunion twenty years from that date.

In January of 1992, Willa is in Manhattan doing a book signing when she sees Patrick for the first time in twenty years. He's a professor at NYU and wants to help her find the old gang for the promised reunion. They search out and find seven members of the group but nobody has seen or heard from Angel since the decade they graduated. Will hires a detective to track her down but it's as if she disappeared off the face of the earth. At the reunion, there's an undercurrent of tension in when one of the guests winds of dead. The police think it is linked to Angela's disappearance two decades ago.

HINDSIGHT is a masterful work of suspense filled with characters that are very different than the way Willa remembered them. Far different from THE BIG CHILL, the protagonist's growing fears clue the audience that one of the old gang is a killer. Barbara Rogan is a talented storyteller who keeps the tension at a high level and leaves the audience wondering what is really going on.

Customer Reviews:

Save Time.......2000-05-28

I wish I had Jane Brittain's book Hindsight in the Home a few years ago when we built our home, then I would have been organized from the start. This little book helps the homeowner to remember all of the little details that seem unimportant until it's time to replace or fix something. It only takes seconds to record in Brittain's book information like what pattern of kitchen wallpaper was used and where it was purchased. But it could take days to replace the wallpaper after some mishap if you can't remember where it was purchased or what it was called. Be ready and able to keep your home in working order and save time with Hindsight in the Home.

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