This is a great read, a courtroom drama and murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the final scenes unfold.

The backbone of the book is the wonderfully drawn characters, especially Luke and Riva. Luke is the one-time prosecutor defending the man everyone thinks is guilty. His motivations are complex and finely drawn by an author with a gift for emotional details, the kind that make a character stand up off the page and come alive.

The roller-coaster ride plot takes you behind the thin veneer of a rich Santa Barbara family, into the dark corners and locked closets of their lives...the places they want no one to see. Their beautiful, innocent 14-year old daughter has been murdered. But how innocent was she?

Freedman earns high marks as a mystery maestro, a true craftsman of the genre. If you like the well-drawn characters of Richard North Patterson and the courtroom pyrotechnics of early John Grisham, you've gotta read The Disappearance!

Luke Garrison left Santa Barbara after a person he prosecuted, who was later to be found innocent, died by the State. Living in Northernmost California, he is living a secluded lifestyle...until an old friend comes up to see him. Seems a prominent family's daughter had been kidnapped and murdered over a year ago and the cops just made an arrest. The community has him convicted already and would Luke like to come back to his old city and defend the alleged??

The story has a bunch of misery and family secrets throughout and Freedman releases details slowly and surely. Once you think you know what's going on...he twists something and you are off on another chase!

Freedman has turned in his best book to date that is tight and easy to follow. The turns in the plot, the characters and the courtroom scenes come alive. A brilliant book! Now I'm going to read ABOVE THE LAW!

Many of the "secrets" revealed are actually not in favor of the IRA at all. For example, the end of the 1980 hunger strike was a huge error, which the IRA tried to cover up by pretending that the British government had offered concessions. Doesn't sound like propaganda to me!

Indeed, I doubt if "unenlightened" read the book at all. His crass comment about "weight watcher of the year" would imply that he has no grasp of the true nature of this issue.

Excellent book---I highly reccommend it for anyone even vaguely curious about Ireland, the strike, POWs or civil rights.

Unlike others, ETG's use an extensive amount of colorful pictures to help you position yourself in the city. San Francisco is not a large city (geographically speaking). It is rather easy though to find yourself lost in the complex grid of one way streets and endless bumps and hills. The guide divides the city into each of the thriving districts and is quick to point out the main spots of interest, along with other things a sight-seer wouldn't have thought of. The drawn maps detailing a block or two of a particular area are incredibly helpful.

The only negative is in regards to restauraunts listed. Due to the time between writing and publishing, many restauraunts are no longer in business. These guides are priced a little above most other books but, are well worth the extra money.

The travel guides have wonderful pictures, well researched histories and facts about San Francisco(about Lombard street, Cable Cars, Angel's Flight....), what wines to look for and taste (not just divided between Napa and Sonoma but also by vineyard but also by year), detailed walking tours, information on famous sites (Alcatraz, the sea lions at Pier 39 and some of the top wineries to visit in Napa and Sonoma). DK also makes a guide that covers all of California and I own both - unless you are simply going to San Francisco, I suggest buying the California guide over this one - they have almost the same information. The European guides for each city have more detail than this guide but it is still a good buy.

The guide covers travel information, driving directions, the best places to shop and eat, where to get good deals and SOOO much more. The book give you wonderful ideas on how to best see each area in a limited time or really enjoy it if you are there for more than a few days. The book also covers things to do that many tourists might over look as well as telling you what is worth your while and what to skip.

This is one of the best guides available on the market. It is perfect if you are planning to go to a few cities in a limited time or for more in depth information when planning a longer trip.

The people of Ireland respond to the idea of this English lunatic pulling this stunt as if it's an excellent proposal and pitch in to help Tony on his way with madcap enthusiasm. By car, truck and van, Tony and his fridge progress around the coast; on the way having the fridge christened, blessed, named and adopted as well as entering into a batchelor competition. The passing through of Tony and his fridge becomes an event in many areas and he achieves a cult following as "Fridge-man".

If you want to read a travelogue with a difference you'd be hard-pressed to find one as bizarre and enjoyable as this which serves to warm the reader's heart to Ireland, the Irish, Tony and free-willed kitchen appliances everywhere. Good craic.

Now if your goal is to hitch-hike around Ireland towing a fridge behind you, well... then the friendship and stout take care of themselves. In a hilarious read Hawks recounts his adventures in Irealnd after having bet his friend 100 pounds that he could hitch-hike around Ireland towing a fridge with him.

Don't dawddle, buy this book! I would sell you mine, but I've only just finished it and already want to start reading it again.

Truly laugh out-loud funny...

The novel's climax will blow you away.

Exquisitely dark, fiendishly graphic and powerfully gripping, Topping from Below is the best reading investment I've made all year. I recommend this novel to all fans of erotic thrillers.

This is one of the best fiction novels I've read in quite a while. The plot will totally engross you. The characters in the story are completely believable and psychologically complex. The urge to understand their motives and behavior is beyond compelling.

I highly recommend reading this book. 10+ star rating! Get it, you'll be glad you did!

CAVEAT LECTOR: If you are in the least bit squeamish, this book may not be your "cup of tea". Some scenes, while absolutely vital to the plot, are very graphic.

As is typical, Pynchon's novel is more effective on a symbolic level than on a literal one. Just as V investigated the dichotomy between the human and the inanimate, Vineland (the name of a city, perhaps similar to "Holly" "wood") explores the relationship between the sixties counterculture movement and leftist political philosophy. Those who view this book as a leftist manifesto have perhaps overlooked the fact that it is Zoyd, the hippie, who is most sympathetic to the reader (and his daughter as well), while Frenesi (the true political leftist) who comes off as a driven, destructive witch. At some level Frenesi's lust for Vond symbolizes her hunger for the power he represents. Her lust for power drives her to sell out her ideals, just as the sixties leftists sold out theirs once the possibility of achieving real power came within their grasp. Thus the difference between the hippies and the leftists was that the hippies wanted freedom, while leftists wanted control, and as such had more in common with the fascist right than with the counterculture that they manipulated. Viewed in this light, Pynchon's message is not that leftist politics is better than fascism, but rather that both forms of political extremism are fundamentally flawed. The book's hero is Zoyd, who is politically paranoid and legally insane (by government standards), so we see that Pynchon's political solution is merely to live one's own life, and maintain a deep distrust of anyone who encroaches on our freedoms whether from the left or the right. And the heroine is not Frenesi, but D. L., who also takes care of Prairie at a crucial moment, and who uses her feminine power to deal with injustices one at a time, rather than trying to change the world.

Despite the metaphorical richness of this book, however, it suffers from some serious problems. The science-fictiony presence of the so-called Thanatoids (ghosts of the unjustly dead) really adds nothing to the story, and along with the occasional reference to high-tech snooping devices, mid-air abductions, and strong female characters, seems a cheap ploy to draw in the cyberpunk audience without the necessity of actually studying science first. But worse than any of that is the depressing world-view that pervades the entire book. Frenesi's betrayals cast a pall over the entire novel, destroying everything in her path, and most of the novel simply follows her downward spiral into depravity and insignificance. Pynchon is a fine writer and has created some amusing characters and situations here, but the bleakness of his political message undercuts the fun of the novel, leaving the reader, like Zoyd, happy to have someplace else to go home to. This is in a many ways a brilliant book, but it's too X-files wacky for serious political readers, too unscientific for cyberpunks, and too dark for good escapism. If none of these bother you, perhaps you'll really love it.

Not once did he blame any particular side and he he stuck to his experinces rather than trying to make any political statements. The subject matter is highly cotrovesial but it is handled objectively.

The book is well worth a read but should be read without biasness because for people who have not experienced the troubles it is unimaginable. It is a stale mate. It is an unsolvable conflict in which there can be no winners.

McGartland conveys the hopelessness of fighting history, religion, patriotism and age old hatred. He was caught between his beliefs and morals. A powerful story of a young man who risked all and now lives in hiding.

The book is of interest to readers not just for the balanced picture it gives of the organized loyalist death squads, but also for the extensive acount it offers of the British system of justice, civil liberties and freedom of speech. It is no coincidence that the book cannot appear in the UK or the Irish Republic, but has been published in the US. McPhilemy carefully outlines the obstacles to anyne attempting to get to the bottom of the barrel of worms that is Northern Ireland. He faced criminal libel charges, death threats, constant contempt of court charges, and a widespread smear campaign emanating from the RUC. ...Another interesting aspect of the book is the picture it paints of David Trimble, now the First Minister in the revived Stormont. Mr. Trimble held private meetings with Mr. Abernathy, the Chairman of the Committee, and was always available to defend its members on television and in Westminster. At the same time, the Committee, continued its task of eliminating Catholics, including many of Mr. Trimbles' constituents in and around Portadown.

The book is necessarily very detailed, but the story is so incredible that I could not put it down. I recommend it as essential reading on Northern Ireland; as important as the recently revised edition of "Th

Even if you do not hold Shirley MacLaine's New Age beliefs and philosophy of life, her newest book, THE CAMINO, is a fascinating read. The fact that a celebrity in her 6th decade would set out on a 500 mile walk, by herself, in a foreign country is intriguing enough.

On two separate occasions, while performing in Brazil, MacLaine received unsigned notes strongly urging her to take a pilgrimage called the Santiago de Compostela Camino across northern Spain. She knew of the Camino, as it is called, but had difficulty in visualizing herself hiking her way through it.

Upon further study and the help of a Brazilian friend named Anna Strong who had made the Camino journey herself, MacLaine decided she had nothing to lose and just might gain some further insight into her life and the state of the world.

MacLaine's story is very compelling and makes for a very fast read. Of course, there are tales of MacLaine's past lives with Charlemange and Giant Moors and as a wild young gypsy woman, but there is also, at the heart of the book, a wonderful story of a woman's determination to finish a journey and to be open to what the universe had planned for her. I was particularly struck by the clever way she dealt with the ever-present hoards of press that seemed to dog her every step.

This is a book worth reading. Take from it what you will, Shirley MacLaine is one tough cookie. I'd hike the mountains with her any day!

Enjoy!

Shirley's past lives came to her as she made this grueling trek and they were, to me, the meat of this audio/book. She once lived along the Camino, and there are two amazing past life experiences in Lemuria and Atlantis.

Shirley's honesty and courage in telling her story is inspiring. The reader also gains much food for thought. The lessons she learns and fears that she has to conquer in order to complete the journey. "Never ask yourself what it is you fear - instead ask yourself what it is that concerns you. A fear thought, put out, will return, because all energy returns to the sender. Any energy always makes a loop until it regains the source. A concern thought will return also. A that moment discern why you're concerned." Certainly gave me something to think about.

I got involved in past life regressions as a result of reading Shirley's first and second books. We all have our own philosophy, of course, and Shirley MacLaine has given voice to another way of thinking that also needs to be acknowledged in our world.

A couple years ago at the age of 40, completely caught up in Christian traditionalism, I started hearing a voice telling me that hell did not exist and encouraging me to search and question my beliefs. I started having dreams about past lives (one life during a period of intense racism, where I took a black child and raised him)--another life as a passionate artist in Italy. I didn't understand what was happening to me, and there were times when I honestly thought I was going crazy. One night, I found Shirley's book "Out on a Limb" under my bed. I didn't have any idea how it got there--I live alone, and I never purchased it. But I started reading and realized I was going through so many of the things that she described in this book. When she described her "Out of body" experience, I felt such a relief. This happened to me several years ago, every single night for an entire summer. I didn't understand what was happening at the time. I would go to sleep, and the next thing I knew I would be out of my body watching myself sleep. My church taught us that out of body experiences were sinful, and I never told anyone. At the time it happened, it was confusing to me, and although I felt that I could have gone anywhere or done anything--I didn't. I simply sat there every night and watched myself sleep. I wish I'd had Shirley's books at that time in my life.

The Camino is her best book of all. Thank you, Shirley. You have been one of my "teachers" and have helped me on an incredible spiritual journey of my own!