Travis McGee, beach bum and 'salvage expert' (he'll retrieve what you've lost for 50 per cent), lives on a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale. Instead of taking retirement at sixty, he takes it in chunks as he goes along. If he likes you he'll help you, and he likes Cathy Kerr, who has been robbed of everything but her dignity ... the first in the series establishes the fast-talking, wisecracking standard MacDonald maintained for over 20 years.
This is an amazing book!!, February 7, 2006 A Kid's Review
Gail Carson Levine is a fantastic writer. Ella Enachanted is now my favorite book out of my book collection at home. This book has romance, comedy, and the everyday worries of a teen all rolled into one interesting book. This book was impossible for me to put down, so i read it until midnight! I really suggest you read this book (probably not for boys!) because i enjoyed it so much.
A wise and unsettling tale of the power and poison of love, from the acknowledged queen of the English psychological mystery.
From Library Journal
Once again, Ruth Rendell writing as Vine (e.g., No Night Is Too Long, Harmony, 1995) weaves a compelling tale of ordinary people facing extraordinary pressures. Two women, divided by age and class, share their deepest secrets in an English nursing home in which one cares for the other. There is a sense of secrecy from the start, as Jenny Warner tells dying Stella Newland about her love affair and Stella shares with Jenny the location of her secret house. Secrecy gives way to foreboding, and tension builds as details are masterfully revealed. Vine is an extraordinary storyteller, able to enthrall a reader right from the start, as she does here. Additionally, she provides a satisfying symmetry in the construction of this book, with the two women's alternating voices and the inextricable linking of their lives, as Stella dies and Jenny is virtually reborn. Highly recommended.
Professional event planner Melanie Stokes does not suspect that the death of a serial killer in a Texas electric chair 20 years before could have any relevance to her neatly ordered existence. But as it becomes clear that the life she's known (as the adopted daughter of Boston cardiologist Harper Stokes and his trophy wife, Patricia) is based on ugly secrets and bloody lies, her world unravels. With the help of FBI Agent David Riggs, who makes up for his lack of physical agilityAthe result of ankylosing spondylitis (bad back problems)Awith finely honed reflexes, street smarts and pure sex appeal, Melanie unearths what an intricately planned 25-year-old cover-up can't hide: the gruesome truth about her parentage. Once again, Gardner serves up suspense at a furious pace.
Lisa Gardner has written another gripping mystery that will keep you turning pages long into the night. This is a dark, scary thriller - so be prepared!
While I was reading it (I had seen the movie prior), I thought that the movie followed the book about one third or even one half of the way but then the book just took off in a ninety degree turn and it was one incredible adventure after another - and I mean incredible literally. It has to have been one of the funniest things I have ever read. At the time, I thought it was as if the author thought mid-way through the book 'Heck, I'm the author - I can do whatever I want' ... and did. The unbridled imagination is thoroughbred. Best thing to do is get the movie and the book and compare them. The movie is first rate but the book is exquisitely funny - much more than the movie.
Carroll Quigley - "The Evolution of Civilizations"
This is a history book like no others. The author developed a detailed model of civilization life cycle analysis. According to him, civilizations pass through 7 predictable stages. Typically the 7th and last stage of one civilization is the first stage of another one that is succeeding the first dying civilization.
Using his model, he analyzes in detail the life cycle of several major civilizations, including: the Mesopotamian, Minoan, Classical, Russian, and Western.
Reading this book almost feels like uncovering a manuscript of secret knowledge. Although I have read quite a bit on this subject, other historians and authors rarely refer to Quigley. Yet, I feel that he is the giant within his field of historical analysis. And, that his model could serve well in better understanding current affairs.
