The Old Man and The Sea

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Here, for a change, is a fish tale that actually does honor to the author. In fact The Old Man and the Sea revived Ernest Hemingway's career, which was foundering under the weight of such postwar stinkers as Across the River and into the Trees. It also led directly to his receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1954 (an award Hemingway gladly accepted, despite his earlier observation that "no son of a bitch that ever won the Nobel Prize ever wrote anything worth reading afterwards"). A half century later, it's still easy to see why. This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head (or hand-to-fin) with a magnificent marlin encapsulates Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical and moral challenge. Yet Santiago is too old and infirm to partake of the gun-toting machismo that disfigured much of the author's later work: "The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords." Hemingway's style, too, reverts to those superb snapshots of perception that won him his initial fame:

Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending and flapping wildly in the air.

If a younger Hemingway had written this novella, Santiago most likely would have towed the enormous fish back to port and posed for a triumphal photograph--just as the author delighted in doing, circa 1935. Instead his prize gets devoured by a school of sharks. Returning with little more than a skeleton, he takes to his bed and, in the very last line, cements his identification with his creator: "The old man was dreaming about the lions." Perhaps there's some allegory of art and experience floating around in there somewhere--but The Old Man and the Sea was, in any case, the last great catch of Hemingway's career. --James Marcus

Book Description

The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal -- a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Customer Reviews:

The perfect book for high school reading.......2007-10-11

This is my first Hemingway story, and was pretty pleased with it. I have always been told that his writing gets right to the point and that he's not a "flowery" writer, so I wasn't surprised to see how long this story was. On the surface, the story was very exciting, even more so at the end when he battles the sharks. As I was reading it, I would get so excited whenever he ran across another shark I didn't even want to read those parts. I was really rooting for Santiago, and felt totally gypped at the end! In terms of reading the story for just "more" than the story, I found that the themes are very easy to identify and talk about so that would make this a great "discussion" novella, and it's no surprise that this is a frequently read book in school. This is an excellent starter book for those who are interested in reading a story for more than face value. It's not too long and it's themes and symbolism aren't too vague to understand.

Good delivery.......2007-10-01

It was a good product and it was delivered on time. The only thing i would like to recommend is that the next time stick my name on the box.

A HEMINGWAY CLASSIC ! ( the story is fascinating, and the symbolism offers wisdom).......2007-09-27

Ernest Hemingway's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Old Man And The Sea is the story of an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago, and the several days and nights he spends alone in his skiff, catching, killing, and bringing to shore, a large (bigger than his skiff) Marlin. Santiago has gone eighty-four days without a catch, and on this day he goes out farther than he normally does, and catches his prize (or maybe it's not a prize at all). The man-against-nature aspect of the story is intriguing in itself, but I've always seen this book as a wise parable that teaches a lesson, or even several lessons, in life. The fish is a symbol of a sought after prize, and the sea is a symbol for life itself, the old man has gone out too far, and so on (there's much, much more, but I don't want to give the story away). It actually can be interpreted many different ways, and because of this, it's like piecing together a different puzzle each time you read it. I have read this interesting story many times in my life (I've just finished reading it again), and I always find new ways to interpret it, and new ways to enjoy it. It's only 120+ pages, so it's a book that can be read without a great deal of labor. Hemingway's vivid imagery of the ocean and early 1950s Cuba is fascinating, and the simple, honest, and humble lives of Santiago and his devoted young friend, Manolin are refreshing and heartwarming. The Old Man And The Sea is a book that I have read for years, and one that I will continue to read for many years to come.

Hemigway at His Best.......2007-09-13

Having read and enjoyed most of Hemingway's major works, I recently decided to re-read this one. It was a wonderful decision.

"The Old Man and the Sea" excels at several levels. On the surface, it is a fine story about an old, down on his luck fisherman catching a huge marlin. But it also has deeper meanings including man against the elements, man fighting failure, man's relationship with nature etc. etc. It is also a story well and efficiently told. One of the great books of all time in only 120+ pages. It deserved the Pulitzer and all the other accolades it has received.

Short but Good Enough.......2007-09-06

Are all of Ernest Hemingway's books following For Whom the Bell Tolls that bad? No, and The Old Man and the Sea justifies that answer. This is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, who has not caught any fish for eighty-four days and is seen by the other fishermen as unlucky. Even the boy that often fishes with him, Manolin, is not allowed to do so anymore by his father's authority, but still helps him out when he is not fishing. The old man goes out onto the Gulf Stream to make some catches and eventually has an arduous struggle with a large marlin. I am not going to give off any big spoilers (for now at least) in this introduction, but I will say one thing: this is a story about how life can reek of misfortunes but in the end, make prosperity.
Hemingway's novels do not just happen as any ordinary fiction based on some random idea, but rather they are inspired by his real-life experiences. What is The Old Man and the Sea based off of? It is based off two things: his time living in Cuba in 1940 and his favorite past experiences: sailing and fishing. The old man, Santiago, is believed to be based off of Cuban fisherman, Gregorio Fuentes. As another fact, The Old Man and the Sea - Santiago's story - was previously intended for a bigger project of Hemingway's: "The Sea Book."
Hemingway has a very unique way of fleshing out the book's situations with words. For most of the book, the old man is out at sea, alone with nobody to talk to, but does that mean he does not talk at all? No, it does not. Often at times, he will talk to himself, usually talking to his own appendages almost as if they had their own degree of sentience. For example, he would say to his arm, "How do you feel, hand?" (Hemingway 58) when it felt pain and then say, "I'll eat some more for you" (59) when he eats some of his recently caught fish to replenish his arms strength for bigger, upcoming catches. He also talks to the fish he has caught or is going to catch, whether they are dead or alive. He communicates with the marlin in his vicious struggle as if it were a sapient creature.
*Warning! Spoilers Ahead!*
Even after the monstrous fish is caught, he still communicates with it, and forms a spiritual bond with his prize. This is evident during the shark attack, which may have been another great battle for the old man, but results in the loss of most of the marlin's edible parts. He feels that he has failed to protect the fish, which was like a brother to him.
*Spoilers end here*
The Old Man and the Sea is a book I would recommend for anyone that usually has poor reading comprehension skills, like me for instance. In fact, I would recommend it for just about anyone. This book is fairly short but interesting enough to keep you engaged, though if you are reading this for school, you may be compelled to take day-to-day breaks with it. Also, this book is not divided into chapters; it is just one chapter the length of the whole book, so it might be a little hard to know when the best time to take a break is. If you think books of this size are just for pre-high school kids, I would say you are bit too judgmental. As they say not to judge a book by its cover, I should also say not to judge a book by its size. If you just started reading this novel, I will say it should take less than a week if you are not too break-heavy. As this is Hemingway's last major novel, Hemingway's literary career sure did end successfully.

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors

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Excellent Book
Ship of Ghosts - A Must Read for all Generations
A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew
A Last-Minute Tribute
A Missing Piece of History

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors
James D. Hornfischer
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0553803905
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

"Son, we’re going to Hell."

The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.

Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.

In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail.

Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2007-09-28

Excellent write-up on a little-known story. I had read of the Houston, but not of the fate of the survivors.

Ship of Ghosts - A Must Read for all Generations.......2007-07-31

Mr. Hornfischer graced my University Area Rotary Club in Austin, his home town, with an excellent talk about the saga of some of our bravest men from the greatest generation. Of course, I bought a copy of the book and it took me a few days to get through it before I hand it to my father to read. Hornfisher shows an unlikely ability to truly connect the facts of the USS Houston and her POW survivors together to tell a compelling human story of the horrors of war and the ability of man to overcome any adversity. Hornfischer is a true patriot for documenting the courage of these brave men, and I am a better man for reading this great book.

A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew.......2007-06-18

Ship of Ghosts is Mr. Hornfischer telling of the USS Houston and her crew during WWII. The USS Houston, known as the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast (because of how many times the Japanese reported her sunk) was the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet. In WWII she was responsible for holding and delaying the Japanese in taking Indonesia. Any ways, Mr. Hornfischer opens by telling us the early pre-war history of the USS Houston, how she was used by FDR as his yacht, and the history of the gentlemen whom Mr. Hornfischer interviewed.

After telling us about the pre-war years, Mr. Hornfisher jumps into the action of the Battle of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. This is then followed by telling us about the crews time as POW's and working on the "Death Railway". Most of this book deals with their experience as POW's (btw, the crew of the HMAS Perth has coverage in this book, not as much as the USS Houston, but it is recognized. Also, Mr. Hornfischer cover the men of the 2nd battalion, 131st Field Artillery). In the chapters dealing with the men being prisoners of war we learn about the poor conditions they kept in and how terrible it was working in Burma on the railway (interestingly, the conditions in Thailand were worse). An interesting fact the Mr. Hornfischer points out several times is how the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai poorly represented the conditions the men served under.

Rating wise this book was very easy for me. A solid 4.5 stars. While Mr. Hornfischer did a commendable job telling us about the crew, I had two problems. First, was his book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors was more solidly written than this one. There I felt as if I was there, this time I had someone telling me of the tale. My primary reason though for only 4.5 stars is that I'd read The Ghost That Died at Sunda Strait(by W.G. Winslow, a true 5 star book). Since I can't leave this as a half star I need to round the number. If I hadn't read Mr. Winslow's book prior, I might round up, however since I've read his book, this one gets rounded down. Sorry Mr. Hornfischer. A very good book though! It complements Mr. Winslow's nicely and picks up where Mr. Winslow chose to leave off. A very good job!

A Last-Minute Tribute.......2007-04-26

With America's WW II veterans dying at the rate of 1,500 a day, we are clearly into "the last lap". Therefore, Jim Hornfischer's excellent treatment of the cruiser Houston comes none too soon. His taut narrative actually involves two stories between the covers of one book: the ship's early combat in the Pacific and the surviving crew members' 3 1/2 year struggle for survival ashore.

There's a lesson for other researchers and authors: "the greatest generation" is fading fast, and its memories are fading even faster. Now is the time to grab the tape recorder or notepad and get the remaining veterans' stories while they are still accessible.

A Missing Piece of History.......2007-04-09

Americans generally think they know about world War II if they know about Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Front, and the Pacific War from the perspective of island hopping coming from the east side of the Pacific. What we usually overlook is the war in Southeast Asia. John Hornfischer has written what might be two books, one about the nearly-solo fight of an isloated ship in the face of the Japanese onslsught in 1942, and the other about the unbelievable suffering of prisoners of war in Japanese prison camps building the Thailand-Burma Railroad - familiar to most of us from the sanitized version seen in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The writing is good (though not overly great); but it is the content that makes this one of the best books written about World War II, the early struggle to give ground only very dearly, the suffering enduured by our soldiers, and finally the failure to meet the real needs of soldiers trying to readjust to society after three years of captivity.

Average customer rating:

The Sea will make readers cry and cheer for the love of it.
The Power and Peril of Memory
Fascinatingly repelling and attracting at once
Good read
All Life Is Lived In The Past

The Sea (Man Booker Prize)
John Banville
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0307263118
Release Date: 2005-11-01

From Amazon.co.uk Review

Incandescent prose. Beautifully textured characterisation. Transparent narratives. The adjectives to describe the writing of John Banville are all affirmative, and The Sea is a ringing affirmation of all his best qualities. His publishers are claiming that this novel by the Booker-shortlisted author is his finest yet, and while that claim may have an element of hyperbole, there is no denying that this perfectly balanced book is among the writer's most accomplished work.

Max Morden has reached a crossroads in his life, and is trying hard to deal with several disturbing things. A recent loss is still taking its toll on him, and a trauma in his past is similarly proving hard to deal with. He decides that he will return to a town on the coast at which he spent a memorable holiday when a boy. His memory of that time devolves on the charismatic Grace family, particularly the seductive twins Myles and Chloe. In a very short time, Max found himself drawn into a strange relationship with them, and pursuant events left their mark on him for the rest of his life. But will he be able to exorcise those memories of the past?

The fashion in which John Banville draws the reader into this hypnotic and disturbing world is non pareil, and the very complex relationships between his brilliantly delineated cast of characters are orchestrated with a master's skill. As in such books as Shroud and The Book of Evidence, the author eschews the obvious at all times, and the narrative is delivered with subtlety and understatement. The genuine moments of drama, when they do occur, are commensurately more powerful. --Barry Forshaw

Book Description

The author of The Untouchable (“contemporary fiction gets no better than this”—Patrick McGrath, The New York Times Book Review) now gives us a luminous novel about love, loss, and the unpredictable power of memory.

The narrator is Max Morden, a middle-aged Irishman who, soon after his wife’s death, has gone back to the seaside town where he spent his summer holidays as a child—a retreat from the grief, anger, and numbness of his life without her. But it is also a return to the place where he met the Graces, the well-heeled vacationing family with whom he experienced the strange suddenness of both love and death for the first time. The seductive mother; the imperious father; the twins—Chloe, fiery and forthright, and Myles, silent and expressionless—in whose mysterious connection Max became profoundly entangled, each of them a part of the “barely bearable raw immediacy” of his childhood memories.

Interwoven with this story are Morden’s memories of his wife, Anna—of their life together, of her death—and the moments, both significant and mundane, that make up his life now: his relationship with his grown daughter, Claire, desperate to pull him from his grief; and with the other boarders at the house where he is staying, where the past beats inside him “like a second heart.”

What Max comes to understand about the past, and about its indelible effects on him, is at the center of this elegiac, vividly dramatic, beautifully written novel—among the finest we have had from this extraordinary writer.

Customer Reviews:

The Sea will make readers cry and cheer for the love of it........2007-09-28

John Banville is a crying out loud genius. I am a writer, and this book will carry me through several of my own books on inspiration alone. I have read it four times friom front to back.
Only a consummate genius of spirit, language, and craft could possibly have written this. Reading it requires, I think, an inveterate reader, for its structure is complex. His description of place will take you there and leave you to inhabit the place.
I found it common to read and re-read passages, pages, and, as I said, the entire book it is so beautifully rendered.
The story is touching and real to my inner self, and he is able to paint me, my innermost thoughts, my love for exquisite detail, scene, memories, and people with such solid and true foundation that humanity within me was discovered, illuminated, and honored.
Blue? Lost? Afraid? Grieving? Satisfied with your lot? Think humanity has gone sadly astray? Read this book. I swear you will never forget it.

The Power and Peril of Memory.......2007-08-31

This is a very rewarding book that requires patience and close attention because of the narrative shifts in time and place.

The story revolves around middle aged Max. In the present, Max is grappling with the recent death of his wife. Clearly the pair had long been a "unit" and Max is quite at loss as to what to do next in her absence. Although he loves his adult daughter Claire, she is no substitute in his affection. So Max is drawn back to a place by the shore that he hadn't been for 50 years, a place where he has a typical early adolesent experience with the opposite sex and an untypical experience with tragedy. The past and present are expertly interwoven by Mr. Banville, who deservedly won his Booker for this effort.

Banville does an incredibly good job showing us the power and limits of memory and how things are remembered (or disremembered) lucidly or poorly.

I think only Ian McEwan today writes with quite the same degree of elegance. And actually, as I think about it, I could make an argument that there are interesting similarities between McEwan's "Atonement" and "The Sea". In each case, the narrator sees or thinks they see something that turns out not to be the case and, in each instance, with terrible consequences; although more obviously so in "Atonement".

Read it "The Sea" and see for yourself.

Fascinatingly repelling and attracting at once.......2007-06-04

I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been on a friend's recommendation but, boy, am I glad I did. Normally I wouldn't want to read about an old man reminiscing but I was hooked from the very first by John Banvilles language.

Max Morden, the main character, alternates between remembering an important time in his adolescence and reviewing his marriage with emphasis on his wife's last months before she dies of cancer.

John Banville's style spellbound me from the first. It's poetry in prose form, every word, every sentence deliberately sculpted and positioned. I refused to be intimidated by his words and made it a challenge to add to my vocabulary.
As I became Max Morden's confidant I was equally repulsed by his honesty and intrigued by his insights. Max speaks about things that happen to all of us but you don't normally hear people admit to them or even mention them: acting out agressively towards a beloved pet, being abusive to other children, having sexual fantasies about adults while we are children or adolescents, hating people close to us just because they are who they are. He shares his regrets and at the same time realistically admits that he'd make the same mistakes again given the choice. He's refreshingly unapologetic.

It took me a while to finish the book and for a while I want to read easier fare; but I want to read more by Banville. He's as much an artist in his field as Gaugin, Goya, Courbet and others. He paints using language.

Good read.......2007-05-31

The temporal layers of the story make it a little bit confusing in the beginning, but by the end you understand this man's grief and search to find himself by going back to the town where he lived as a child, trying to make sense out of his life and who he has become. My book club read this and we all enjoyed the writing and story. Some people will not like this book. It is not a fast paced story, but it is a story full of emotion. Soo.... go read it.

All Life Is Lived In The Past.......2007-05-18

The Sea is a marvel of efficiency; in less than 200 pages, Banville writes a "memoir" that is spare and yet touching and profound.

The Sea is the story of a rapidly aging widower who, after the death of his wife, travels to the seaside resort town where he spent several summers as a child. Taking up residence in a long term boarding house filled with other hurting and lost souls, he thinks about his life; first his childhood summers and the life defining relationship and events of those years, then the days preceding and during his wife's illness and death, and then finally the unkind truth of his present life. These narratives are weaved together throughout the novel until they coalesce towards the end.

I could ramble on for a while about how much I liked this book, how true Banville's observations rung, how deep the sense of loss is, how scary it makes one feel about getting old. I could, but you should just buy the book and experience it for yourself.

Banville won the Mann Booker prize for The Sea. Some quotes:

"On the subject of observing and being observed, I must mention the long grim gander I took at myself in the bathroom mirror this morning. Usually these days I do not dally before my reflection any longer than is necessary. There was a time when I quite liked what I saw in the looking-glass, but not any more. Now I am startled, and more than startled, by the visage that so abruptly appears there, never and not at all the one that I expect. I have been elbowed aside by a parody of myself, a sadly disheveled figure in a Hallowe'en mask made of sagging pinkish -grey rubber that bears no more than a passing resemblance to the image of what I look like that I stubbornly retain in my head."

"When we arrived I marveled to see how much of the village as I remembered it was still here, if only for eyes that knew where to look, mine, that is. It was like encountering an old flame behind whose features thickened by age the slender lineaments that a former self so loved can still be clearly discerned."

"I looked aside quickly for fear my eyes would give me away; one's eyes are always those of someone else, the mad and desperate dwarf crouched within. I knew what she meant. This was not supposed to have befallen her. It was not supposed to have befallen us, we were not that kind of people. Misfortune, illness, untimely death, these things happen to good folk, the humble ones, the salt of the earth, not to Anna, not to me."

"I recalled walking in the street with Anna one day after all her hair had fallen out and she spotted passing by on the pavement a woman who was also bald. I do not know if Anna caught me catching the look they exchanged, the two of them, blank-eyed and at the same time sharp, sly, complicit. In all that endless twelvemonth of her illness I do not think I ever felt more distant from her than I did at that moment, elbowed aside by the sorority of the afflicted."

"[my daughter] understands me to a degree that is disturbing and will not indulge my foibles and excesses as others do who know me less and therefore fear me more. But I am bereaved and wounded and require indulging. If there is a long version of shrift, then that is what I am in need of. Let me alone, I cried at her in my mind, let me creep past the traduced old Cedars, past the vanished Strand Café, past the Lupins and the Field that was, past all this past for if I stop I shall surely dissolve in a shaming puddle of tears."

"Have I spoken already of my drinking? I drink like a fish. No, not like a fish, fishes do not drink, it is only breathing, their kind of breathing. I drink like one recently widowed-widowered? - a person of scant talent and scanter ambition, greyed o'er by the years, uncertain and astray and in need of consolation and the brief respite of drink-induced oblivion. I would take drugs if I had them, but I have not, and do not know how I might go about getting some."

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
A truly unpleasant character
empty
I read a library copy, then bought my own -- it's that good!
Highly Recommended

The Sea
John Banville
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400097029
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Book Description

In this luminous new novel about love, loss, and the unpredictable power of memory, John Banville introduces us to Max Morden, a middle-aged Irishman who has gone back to the seaside town where he spent his summer holidays as a child to cope with the recent loss of his wife. It is also a return to the place where he met the Graces, the well-heeled family with whom he experienced the strange suddenness of both love and death for the first time. What Max comes to understand about the past, and about its indelible effects on him, is at the center of this elegiac, gorgeously written novel — among the finest we have had from this masterful writer.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-10-10

I found this book disappointing. I teach writing, and the novel reminded me of an assignment in which students must write essays using lists of vocabulary words. The extensive vocabulary employed to describe such a narrow existence and set of circumstances made the novel, at times, appear an odd parody of itself. Certainly no A la recherche du temps perdu, although it moves at about the same speed.

A truly unpleasant character.......2007-09-25

A young boy full of turbid imaginings ages into a frustrated, self-destructive widower. He's a skillful creation, even if his take on life leaves the reader feeling a little queasy.

An art historian, he takes a grim view of human bodies. Even the objects of his youthful desire are described in terms of thickened and bulging flesh, veins, sweaty skin, greasy hair, chilly lavender lips. Bodies are instruments of lust and illness, and to this narrator, the two seem wedded by events in his past and his present.

The plot is simple. Reeling from one tragedy, he returns to the site of another, hoping to drink his way into an understanding of both. As a story, it's given a surpisingly hopeful ending. It is not so much the story, though, it is of course the way it is told. The prose here is stunning, a catalog of unusual words and poetic imagery.

Ah, but this character. He bugged me.

He is painfully aware of the flaws of the bodies around him, including his own. He holds his daughter's lack of artful proportions against her, remarking on her long neck and melony bottom, though the sight of her small hands folded can bring him to tears. He rages at his own aging. The body that betrays him most is that of his late wife, who succumbs to cancer. Her death is not noble, not beautiful, and neither is he, though the language of the book certainly is.

His late wife takes a series of photos of patients at the hospital, focusing in color on their scars, deformities, ruptures and stumps. "It's my indictment," she says. This book functions in much the same way, as a written indictment of the body and all its betrayals.

Thank god for the ending.

empty.......2007-09-14

I found this book sadly lacking in everything. I love good prose but that's just not enough for me. Even Banville's prose in The Sea didn't seem that good but perhaps that's because I wanted so much more than this from a Booker Prize winner. The characters all seemed unlikeable and the story, if it could be called that, was very simple. It concerns and aging man of perhaps fifties or even sixties, grieving (a little) over a dead wife and returning to a place on a seafront where he spent a childhood holiday. Something bad happens at the end of this childhood holiday that you'll discover at the end of the book. But the 'bad thing' is in itself anti-climactical. It's a slow inevitable journey towards it during which time we are shown some byplay between the characters of today and yesterday. We never get to know the characters well and the story never seems to take off or go anywhere. It's almost like writing a slow plodding book about anything and have a murder/accident/crime at the end of it as if to make the reader/art-critic nod his head wisely at the end of it, thinking of what has gone before. What a waste of a booker prize!

I read a library copy, then bought my own -- it's that good!.......2007-08-21

Can a book about death, grieving and isolation from life be sensuous? That, most certainly, was the feeling that this exquisitely written book evoked in me.

Imagine strolling through a world famous art gallery and gazing at the paintings, many of which you already know so well from books or lectures. No doubt many of the paintings would have somber, dark themes, yet somehow the beauty of the art overwhelms, bringing forth awe, enthusiasm...even joy. That is the feeling that reading John Banville's Man Booker award winning novel, "The Sea," was like for this reader.

Max Morden, the narrator, is not an easy character to understand or like. It is precisely his strangeness that keeps us reading. We live in his mind for the entire novel, yet somehow the reader can't quite come to terms with what makes Max the miserable, grieving, self-loathing, isolated man he appears to be.

By profession, Max is an art historian, apparently involved in researching and writing a scholarly book on Pierre Bonnard. But he thinks of himself as "a man of scant talent and scanter ambition." He is disappointed in life, disappointed in his daughter, and disappointed in himself.

After the death of his wife, Anna, Max returns to the only other place in his life where he felt a whole person: The Cedars, a seaside villa run as a boarding house. It was here, as a young boy, that he first experienced love and death. It is the intertwining stories of that time, the recent past, and the present that make up the story line of the novel.

Max is a man who dreams that he owns a typewriter without the letter "i." He prefers dispassionately to observe life. Banville gives us few glimpses of him actually participating in life. For Max, life passes before him like images on a tableau and people seem to exist for him alone and not in their own right. How odd, therefore, that he views himself as being made real only through people.

Max marries his wife because she gave him the chance to fulfill his fantasy of himself. He remembers her with great tenderness. Yet the only time in the novel where Max allows himself to rage against his loss is when you find him thinking: "how could you go and leave me like this, floundering in my own foulness, with no one to save me from myself. How could you."

Usually, the reader is drawn positively to a protagonist. But with "The Sea," the reader is drawn irresistibly to the beauty of the text. The reader falls in love with the words. One novelist, Nabokov, and two poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins and T. S. Eliot, frequently came to my mind while savoring this book.

I read a library copy, but when I finished I bought my own copy. I look forward to reading this book again--like revisiting a favorite poem, or reviewing a grand painting, I am sure I will enjoy it completely anew.

Highly Recommended.......2007-08-13

John Banville's lyrical novel, "The Sea," was highly recommended to me, and it met my every expectation for a well-written, intriguing piece of fiction. Though there is a story imbedded in the fanciful meanderings of the protagonist, Max Morden, it is slow to come amid his interior musings, and, as in any good novel, the crucial incidents are not revealed until late in the book.

The novel opens by the sea with a strange high tide with seabirds mewling and swooping, and the sea becomes a presence, as Max deals with disturbing crises in his life. His wife, Anna, has died of cancer, his grown daughter remains distant, and he is plagued by memories from his childhood summers spent on the Irish coast. Max returns to the seaside town of his boyhood, remembering his own loveless parents, the enviable upper-class Grace family, Connie, the attractive mother, Carlo, the corpulent father, the twins, Max's playmates, Chloe and the mute, sometimes spooky, Myles, and Rose, the twins' nanny.

While the plot is rather thin, the reader is carried along with Max as he relives the traumatic incidents of his life, his adolescent awakening to love and sex and unexpected death, and his current struggle with grief and depression, from which his daughter, Claire, tries to rescue him. But the reader is buoyed from this morass by the wonderful and uplifting imagery of Max's meanderings, the ever-reassuring presence of the sea, and the surprising revelations as the novel reaches its climax. Banville's prose is a pure treat, and the novel's prize-winning power is evident on every page.

Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue

Average customer rating:

A Great Sea Story
Halsey's Typhoon
"Sea Cobra" wins
Tragedy and Human Response
A compelling story marred by errors and style

Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue
Robert Drury , and Tom Clavin
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0871139480

Book Description

In the tradition of The Perfect Storm and Flags of Our Fathers, Halsey’s Typhoon chronicles the epic tale of men clashing against the ruthless forces of war and nature. In December 1944, America’s most popular and colorful naval hero, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, unwittingly sailed his undefeated Pacific Fleet into the teeth of the most powerful storm on earth. Three destroyers were capsized sending hundreds of sailors and officers into the raging, shark infested waters. Over the next sixty hours, small bands of survivors fought seventy-foot waves, exhaustion, and dehydration to await rescue at the hands of the courageous Lt. Com. Henry Lee Plage, who, defying orders, sailed his tiny destroyer escort USS Tabberer through 150 mph winds to reach the lost men. Thanks to documents that have been declassified after sixty years and dozens of first-hand accounts from survivors—including former President Gerald Ford—one of the greatest World War II stories, and a riveting tale of survival at sea, can finally be told.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Sea Story.......2007-10-20

There are many unknown stories of WW II. One of the lesser known stories is about Adm. Halsey's fleet that was caught in a deadly Typhoon.

The story is full of first person accounts from people who somehow lived through the typhoon, including some who floated in the stormy ocean for days.I plan to read the book again... that's high praise.

Halsey's Typhoon.......2007-09-30

Outstanding!! Best WW2 historial book I have ever read. Wonderful background info on key issues and people

"Sea Cobra" wins.......2007-08-21

"Halsey's Typhoon": earned one star for the awesome photos of future Prsident Gerald Ford skying for the basketball on the basketball court and
Commander Henry Lee Plage of the USS Tabberer looking three times cooler than Fonzie and John Wayne put together. He proved in action to be three times the hero that he looked.
"Halsey's Typhoon": earned three negative stars for a boring start, middle and end as well as talking down to the reader (constantly using words that had to be looked up and when I looked them up the results were staggering. The words were constantly listed as slang, archaic, obsolete and the meaning didn't even fit the sentence!!!)
"Sea Cobra" by Buckner F. Melton Jr.: covers the same event and earned 4.5 stars. It was extremely user friendly and made the story come to life. You felt like you were with the sailors fighting Typhoon Cobra and Typhoon Viper and Commander's Plage's decision to ignore Halsey's orders and amazingly rescue drowning sailors.
"Sea Cobra": earned .5 negative stars due to lesser photos.

Tragedy and Human Response.......2007-08-17

This is a great book recounting the story of the typhoon in December of 1944 that swept through the Phillipine Sea and sunk three American destroyers costing over the lives of over 700 sailors. The author is very good and not only describing these events, but laying out much of the background that lead to them.

Its important to never forget the old adage that "hindsight is 20/20" in assigning responsibility to other people for their response or lack of response to the events around them. This book provides much food for thought about not only Halsey's Typhoon of 1944, but it can also furnish us guidance about responding to contemporary tragedies. In that sense, its more than just an old World War II story.

Acts of God like hurricanes and typhoons may be beyond our control. However, emergency planning and response may make all the difference in the world. Those who read this book will be struck by the actions of Lieutenant Commander Henry Plage who commanded another destroyer at the time, the U.S.S. Tabor. He was quick to respond to the catastrophe and using skills of superior seamanship rescued dozens of drowning sailors from the ocean. Plage couldn't have done it without a well trained crew and understanding the fine art of sailing in seas with waves and swells as high as 100 feet.

Another example of response to this catastrophe took place on board an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S Monterrey. This ship had caught fire after airplanes were flung about their hangars and ruptured gasoline tanks started an inferno. The situation became so bad, an order was given to abandon ship. The crew decided though that they could save the Monterrey and they proceeded to do so by fighting the fire in a very thought out manner. The Monterrey was saved by its dedicated and competent crew.

Old ships that were top heavy capsized in the hurricane. New ships that were designed to ride out bad weather survived the storm.

Its a very interesting book that gives us much to think about.

A compelling story marred by errors and style.......2007-08-01

Halsey's Typhoon is a World War II disaster-survival tale about Typhoon Cobra enveloping the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet, commanded by Admiral William F. (Bull) Halsey, in the Philippine Sea in December 1944.

The best part of the book, by far, is the second half. Participants, primarily surviving crew members of the three sunken destroyers or the destroyer escort Tabberer which rescued 60% of the survivors despite its own severe damage, relate their experiences during the storm, floating in the water for 24-48 hours, being rescued and recovering These survivors' and rescuers' tales, related recently to the authors by a handful of remaining veterans, are informative, frightening, fascinating, memorable and inspiring. I'm glad their firsthand experiences, even in part, have been published.

Unfortunately, apart from the survivors' personal narratives, this book's deficiencies are many. The authors seem to have relatively little knowledge of either the Navy or World War II, with misused terms and questionable characterization events being too numerous to itemize. Examples include referring to the flag flown at the bow of a naval vessel as a "battle guideon" (an Army term for what the Navy calls a battle jack); calling a ship's mess deck its mess hall; repeatedly referring USS Monaghan as having "drawn first blood" when it sank a Japanese mini-sub inside Pearl Harbor thirty minutes after the attack started whereas it is widely acknowledged that USS Ward sank a Japanese mini-sub outside the entrance of Pearl Harbor before the aerial attack even commenced; describing MacArthur's invasion of Luzon as a "stepping stone" toward Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself when it was arguably more of a strategic distraction from Nimitz's Central Pacific island hopping campaign through Guadalcanal, Guam, Saipan, etc. that actually established the air bases from which the U.S. directly struck Japan in 1945 and opened the route to Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Also, the book needs serious editing to eliminate wordiness, inconsistencies (e.g., ascribing different ranks or titles to the same people within the scope of a few days) and questionable or obscure metaphors. For instance, does it make sense to describe Halsey's belated decision to allow his command to break formation in order for individual captains to concentrate on the safety of their ships to being like "Mrs. O'Leary reporting her cow missing?" The authors' wordiness and commitment of space to irrelevant biographical details or wartime events may have been a way to deal with the fact that a concise rendition of their most original and compelling material would have filled perhaps just half as many pages.

Finally, apart from the sunken destroyers and their principal rescuing vessel, former-President Ford's experiences on the USS Monterey and descriptions of near-disaster on the USS Aylwin, there are few details about what happened to any of the other vessels during the typhoon. Finally, there is nothing whatsoever about how the typhoon affected the war effort. How long did it take before the damaged Third Fleet was again combat ready? What impact did the loss of Third Fleet air cover have on the Army's Mindoro campaign, which was the reason Halsey was so reluctant to release his ships from formation? The world wants to know...

The book's three sections - The Fleet, the Storm and The Rescue - are divided into twenty-five unnamed chapters that total 266 pages. An Epilogue (immediate post-storm events), Afterword 2006 (post-WWII careers of some figures in the narrative), four-page bibliography, an index and miscellaneous addendums bring the page count to 322. Twenty-eight B&W photos illustrate some of the key characters and ships and endpaper charts depict locations relative to the typhoon track. There are no footnotes.

Recommended to naval history and WWII buffs, survival/adventure tale fans or anyone who lost a relative at sea during WWII due to the recounting of individual veterans' experiences. Not recommended to people seeking information about WWII campaigns and strategies or those seeking tightly composed nonfiction prose.

Command: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures)

Average customer rating:

The Book Command, A truly great book.
Tom Kydd is Finally in Command
Weak effort
Riveting, exciting, springboard to epic adventures
An added adventure

Command: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures)
Julian Stockwin
Manufacturer: McBooks Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1590131207

Book Description

In this seventh book of the series, Thomas Kydd is master of his own brig-sloop Teazer and he must race the clock to make her battle-ready to defend Malta against Barbary pirates and the French, who are frantically trying to rescue the remnants of their army in the Levant. Suddenly, peace is declared, and the young captain finds himself ashore. To make ends meet, he agrees to transport convicts to Australia. Little does he know that his friend Renzi, weakened by illness and embittered with the service, is also bound for that colony as a settler. There they will be forced to face their deepest fears and prove themselves against all odds.

Customer Reviews:

The Book Command, A truly great book........2007-06-11

Julian Stockwin is a great author. He makes you feel that you are there watching, hearing, and in the thick of things. He lets you see all of shipboard life not just the main characters narrow vision. A truly talented Author. I can't wait for his next book in the Kydd Sea Adventures.

Tom Kydd is Finally in Command.......2007-05-31

Julian Stockwin's "Command" is the seventh book in his Kydd series. These books are set in the Napoleonic-era Royal Navy and follow in the same vein as C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books.

In "Command," Kydd finds himself unexpectedly in command of a small (16-gun) brig sloop that is just being completed in Malta. Kydd is responsible for fitting her out, giving her sea trials, and molding a new crew from scratch. Kydd feels the elation and weight of command as he, and he alone, is responsible for the successes and failures aboard his command. However, just as Kydd gains confidence in himself and his ship, peace "breaks out" and Kydd is sent ashore without a ship or job. Kydd is then faced with desperate times as he faces the loss of his livelihood and his best friend.

"Command" is another great novel in the "Kydd" series and is a must-read for anyone who enjoys military historical fiction or the Napoleonic era. I eagerly await the next book.

Weak effort.......2007-05-22

This is the limpest effort for a Kydd novel so far. He bravely wanders the Med in Teazer until the Peace and, unemployed, takes command of a transport ship to Australia. His erstwhile friend, the surly Renzi, pops aboard with an attitude that would certainly find him pitched overboard in a more realistic telling. The entire voyage to Australia is passed over without a word. Oh, and can Mr. Kydd ever lose the miserably depicted accent of a low borne? How tedious! Let's hope Mr. Stockwin can pick up the pace with the next installment.

Riveting, exciting, springboard to epic adventures.......2007-05-03

I just finished Command and thoroughly enjoyed it. Julian Stockwin has taken us through so much, yet I feel we're still on the brink of great things. Not only was it a watershed episode in the development of Thomas Kydd, but, hopefully, if Nicholas agrees to the offer made my Kydd, the relationship between the two is cast. It's as if we're hearing, "Now the adventure begins."

An added adventure.......2007-03-30

This novel starts as a standard Royal Navy adventure with Thomas Kydd receiving a promotion to Commander, and taking a brig sloop into action in the eastern Med with some detached duty. It has a good description of fitting out a ship and acquiring a crew, as well as action on land as well as at sea. That part of the story comes to an end with the Peace of Amiens, and Kydd finds himself like a lot of other officers "on the beach" unemployed at half pay.

That is followed by the second part of the novel (this is like two novels in one). Kydd finds he is over-qualifed for various positions that might be available (I remember hearing that phrase after I received a PhD). A commander simply cannot be put into a position where a lieutenant is required (Kydd had put in his time forward, and apparently did not consider using an assumed name to ship out on a merchant ship). Attempts to enter the merchant service as a deck officer are met with questions revealing his complete lack of knowledge in dealing with the merchant trade.

That brings Kydd into a situation where he ends up as master of a convict ship, and some adventures in far off Australia. I won't go into all the details, but you will learn a lot about the original settlement of Australia.

Kydd's friend Renzi decides to try his luck establishing an estate in Australia. He has no experience as a farmer, but he has a book. Some of this part really gets funny. You learn a little more about the settling of Australia.

The novel ends with Kydd preparing to return to England. We all know that the war started up again, so we wait with anticipation to see what is in store for Kydd.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (rpkg) (HarperClassics)

Average customer rating:

Fascinating story, great protagonist
A book that never leaves you
breathtaking
I loved it!
Charlotte Doyle

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (rpkg) (HarperClassics)
Avi
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380728850
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Book Description

A vicious captain, a mutinous crew --
and a young girl caught in the middle

Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating story, great protagonist.......2007-08-09

Charlotte Doyle is a prim and proper 13-year-old lady in the making. Having completed schooling in England, she sets sail to rejoin her family in Rhode Island -- but her father's carefully made travel arrangements, including escorts and chaperones, go awry, and she boards the ship alone. Before she can debark to make other arrangements, the Seahawk departs from Liverpool and begins the several-week journey across the Atlantic. Charlotte finds herself alone with the crew, an unsavory lot to a man, and the captain, who seems utterly charming and refined despite his unpopular reputation.

But before the voyage can get very far, Charlotte finds herself embroiled in shipboard plots, mutinous rumblings, betrayals, brutal punishments and murders. Her schooling has not prepared her for anything but the most genteel of society, so the young girl is forced by circumstances to adapt to this new and dangerous situation. She also faces a hard choice in choosing her loyalties on this volatile ship.

"The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" is an engrossing, exciting book that is suitable for younger readers but will hold the interest of adults. As historical fiction, readers will find it filled with details about life on a ship in 1832, and it's obvious Avi has done his research about the period. As both a nautical adventure story and a murder-mystery, the novel has both a riveting plot and several rich, well-developed characters to hold your attention.

Charlotte herself is a fascinating protagonist, growing from her refined but naive beginnings into a decisive, self-assured young girl. She is an excellent role model for teen readers.

I highly recommend this book to all but the youngest readers. In particular, fans of L.A. Meyer's "Bloody Jack" series should enjoy this seafaring mystery, a deserving recipient of the Newbery Award.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

A book that never leaves you.......2007-07-31

I read this book as a young girl, and it enthralls me still. It stands out in my mind as an almost perfect novel- one of the greatest (children's or otherwise) I have ever read. Highly recommended!

breathtaking.......2007-06-10

Charlotte Doyle, a proper young lady from england, becomes something so unexpected. She stars in this breathtaking, suspensful story, of action, murder, and mutany aboard a ship in the middle of the atlantic ocean.

I loved it!.......2007-06-06

I read this book for the first time when I was about 10 or 11. I am 25 now and I still remember this as being an excellent book! I am planning on buying it so that I can read it again.

Charlotte Doyle.......2007-06-05

I LOVED the book, but I wish I could connect with it more. I would have never thought of reading this book if it weren't for our reading class! It all starts with Charlotte, a girl of high class living in 1832. She must travel to Providence to meet her family. From there, the story has many tragic events all leading up to a suprising twist. I LOVED the book because it brought me and my BFF Kayla really close in the tragic parts of it because we both got REALLY into it. I would deffinatly recomend the book "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" to all young adults.

Average customer rating:

Terrible.
First draft
Descent into the depths
Part Ingmar Bergman, part Alfred Hitchcock --- masters of the symbolic, the noir-ish and the macabre
The deserved ruination of a despicable human

Depths: A Novel
Henning Mankell
Manufacturer: New Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1595580891

Book Description

A gripping, masterful novel from the world-famous Henning Mankell, set off the coast of Sweden during World War I.

The skerry was resting in the sea. It was like being in a cradle, or on a deathbed, he thought. All the voices hidden in the cliff were whispering. Even rocks have memories, as do waves and breakers. And down below, in the darkness where fish swam along invisible and silent channels, there were also memories.—from Depths

It is October 1914, and Swedish naval officer Lars Tobiasson-Svartman is charged with a secret mission to take depth readings around the Stockholm archipelago. In the course of his work, he lands on the rocky isle of Halsskär. It seems impossible for it to be habitable, yet it is home to the young widow Sara Fredrika, who lives in near-total isolation and is unaware that the world is at war.

A man of control and precision, Tobiasson-Svartman is overwhelmed by his attraction to the half-wild, illiterate Sara Fredrika, a total contrast to his reserved, elegant wife. Soon he enacts the worst of his impulses, turning into another, far more dangerous man, ready to trade in lies and even death to get closer to the lonely woman without losing hold of his wife. Matters of shame, fidelity, and duty are swept to sea as he struggles to maintain his parallel lives, with devastating consequences for the women who love him.

Henning Mankell, author of the internationally bestselling Kurt Wallander series and the critically acclaimed Chronicler of the Winds, once again proves himself a master of the novel with Depths, an arresting, disquieting story of obsession.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible........2007-09-24

This book was cold and bland. It never drew me in and it wasn't all that entertaining either. The only reason I finished it is because I didn't have anything else to read at the moment. I hope this isn't typical of Mankell, I'll be hard pressed to read another book by him.

First draft.......2007-09-07

This one reads really like an outline for a movie screenplay and could have done with better editing to excise the pretentious bits; it's better than the pedestrian Wallander novels but completely devoid of any humour or levity.
It's still, oddly, very gripping. It's tantalising to imagine what a really great writer, rather than a merely good one like Mankell, could do with the plot.

Descent into the depths.......2007-07-01

A number of reviewers here were disappointed with this novel because of its relentless bleakness. The "Depths", by Henning Mankell, is bleak indeed, but it is not a story badly written. Some objected to "very short chapters", this of course is a valid stylistic exercise used by other authors, usually to make a point; it is used by Mankell to the same effect here (the protagonist was obsessed with the detail but unable to see the whole and this can be seen as one of the reason of his descent into depths, both literally and figuratively).

The bleakness of the novel is masterfully executed; if you would rather read something uplifting this is not the book to pick up! The characters are well supported by the relentless land- and seascape (much of the story is set in the cold season, and most of the summertime is glossed over). But this novel belongs in the European tradition of Ibsen or Dostoyevsky with its dispassionate analysis of a character whose life unravels in front of our very eyes and where practically everyone affected by his actions ends up damaged as well. The strong female characters grow in strength through the story but still remain only schematically, or lightly, drawn in contrast to the centre character. This was the only disappointment for me; otherwise the story made a powerfull impact on me.

Part Ingmar Bergman, part Alfred Hitchcock --- masters of the symbolic, the noir-ish and the macabre.......2007-05-30

I think of films, not novels, when trying to describe DEPTHS: It's part Ingmar Bergman, part Alfred Hitchcock --- masters of the symbolic, the noir-ish and the macabre --- with maybe a dash of Ripley's Game thrown in. However, Ripley --- in the film and the Patricia Highsmith novel on which it's based --- is clearly a psychopath; the suspense is in seeing how long and how successfully he can pass for normal. In contrast, the protagonist of DEPTHS, a naval officer by the name of Lars Tobiasson-Svartman, initially appears sane, albeit terrifically repressed.

Sure, he has issues: a father complex (Tobiasson is his mother's name, inserted for protective purposes: "His father was dead now, but dead people can also be a threat"); a highly ritualized marriage to Kristina Tacker, a woman who mysteriously has retained her maiden name; and seriously weird dreams (horses being whipped?), but he seems more control freak than madman.

When we first encounter him, it is wartime, 1914, and he is engaged in a covert mission to the Baltic Sea --- charting the depths of certain sea routes used by the Swedish navy to make sure ships won't run aground. His profession has to do with measurement, and he seems to conduct his life and manage his psyche with the same pitiless precision. Then disturbing things start happening. A seaman falls ill with appendicitis and dies before he can reach a hospital; the body of a German soldier is found floating in the ocean (although Sweden has remained neutral, Russian and German ships are battling not far away); and a captain drops dead of a heart attack.

Most fatally, Tobiasson-Svartman rows to Halsskär, an obscure and apparently unoccupied island near his ship's anchorage, and there he discovers a young woman named Sara Fredrika --- a widow living in unimaginable isolation --- and conceives a desperate passion for her. Sara Fredrika is completely unlike Kristina Tacker, with her cool beauty and fragile china animals (the two women are clearly conceived as opposites). She is dirty and smells; in her primitivism she is irresistible.

Tobiasson-Svartman is hooked. He returns home to Stockholm, where his wife tells him she is pregnant, but he cannot stay away from Halsskär and Sara Fredrika. In his desperation to return to the island undetected, he even walks over the frozen sea (like many scenes in DEPTHS, this journey is strikingly and memorably cinematic). Helpless in his obsession, he squanders his savings, deceives his wife and employer, and finally commits murder; as his double life unravels, we begin to see that he is not just the victim of an inappropriate lust --- he is quite insane. It all ends just about as badly as one can imagine.

The wildness of this gothic tale is echoed in the oceanic setting --- more than a setting, actually, for in Tobiasson-Svartman's fevered mind nature is treacherously alive (rocks turning into beasts; the sea "keeping watch on him, like a sharp-eyed animal"), and Mankell is constantly making parallels between the unconscious mind and the fathomless sea ("He was mapping navigable channels so that other people would be able to travel in safety, but the charts he was mapping for himself led to chaos." And again: "He had measured the depth of the sea...but he had not succeeded in coordinating his discoveries with the navigable channels inside himself.").

I must confess that this relentless, heavy-handed symbolism got me down after a while (as did the oddly brief chapters, some as short as a single sentence). Perhaps it is a European style of novel that doesn't appeal to me, or maybe the fault of any literature in translation, but despite its haunting seascape the book seemed to me pretentious and arty rather than profound.

It's not that I insist on Mankell sticking to the known territory of his mystery novels. He is allowed to experiment. But here, it seems to me, his usually sure touch has deserted him. In his thrillers, as in DEPTHS, the realm of the abnormal and disturbing (in the form of murder) is juxtaposed with matter-of-fact life and daily routine. But Mankell's finest creation, the police inspector Wallander --- instead of being consumed by the craziness of his job --- remains magnificently human and absolutely sane. He is flawed, vulnerable, overweight, lonely, sometimes depressed, not that good at being a parent, husband or lover --- but he is magnificent at solving murders.

I wish Mankell had dispatched Wallander on h