Product Description
Praised by critics, a thriller by an Edgar Award-winning author stars a Native American woman who uses ancient wisdom and modern street smarts to help fugitives cover their trails and begin new lives. Reprint. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

Too much revealed in dreams.
This book is the first I have read in the Jane Whitfield series. She specializes in helping to hide people who need to disappear from abusive husbands, gangsters, whatever. I don't know about the other books in the series - yet - but the man she is helping in Vanishing Act has no trouble finding her, has lots of skills that would appear to help him hide himself, and comes with bags of cash.This one however, turns out to be the opposite of her usual client.

One criticism of the book might be that it waffles between being an escape thriller and a didactic lecture (hmmm, is that redundant) on Native American culture and history. Whitfield is Seneca and while I found the discourses and snippets of Indian language interesting, they seemed totally out of place with the rest of the book.On the other hand, once you get past some of the dream sequences, which reveal ALL of the rationale and motivations of the other character (that was a bit much,) her use of Indian lore and skills to overcome her adversary in the woods, was intriguing.Loved that part.

disappointing
A heroine who's half white, half Seneca, and helps criminals "disappear" is inexhaustibly energetic but not too bright, it turns out.The plot alternates between long passages of exposition and fairly good sections of flight/pursuit writing.The "Indian lore" scattered around the pages--well, if you take that seriously I have a bridge to sell you.I read this on the recommendation of a friend, and was grievously disappointed; I felt manipulated by the author in bad ways.

Another terrific read from Perry
As strained as the premise may be, Perry makes Jane Whitefield and her adventures (and misadventures as in "Vanishing Act") come to life - a compelling read.As in many Perry novels there are certain ruminations that go on a bit too long but that's why they make books out of pages - just keep turning until she is back in action.On the other hand, Jane's somewhat mystical connections to her Native American past are intriguing - a shot of anthropology and history.No reason to spoil the plot other than to say that it is always follow Jane's ingenious solutions to the various obstacles placed in her way.Western NY is an unlikely setting but in a sense, it grounds the rather implausible plots.All in, Perry writes well and provides enough twists to keep you reading.4-stars versus 5 only because of my feelings about the over-long digressions.A 5-star review otherwise.

Couldn't Put it Down!
This is not your typical murder mystery. The heroine helps people enter their own version of "the witness protection" program. This book is one of the best of the series because it shows some vulnerability in Jane along with unexpected plot twists.And the action is non -stop. Loved it!

A very good introduction
I listened to this audio while I was on vacation and traveling by train.I am glad I picked this book for the trip, as it was just about right for my travel time plus waiting around for my train to get in.I am glad I was able to listen in 2 sittings, because after getting almost halfway thru the book on the way to my vacation spot, I could not wait to leave again so that I could finish the book.Its a very interesting concept, Jane the Guide, who "takes people out of the world".Rather different than the regular old private detective, and nice to see a lady lead who is not some silly flirty girl overly worried about her hair and makeup.I am usually one of those people who figures out who the killer is very early on, but this one suckered me.Figuring it out early on does not take away from most books, but I always enjoy being surprised at the end so much more.The only thing that bothered me a little was the audio quality.While the reader's voice was good, I had some trouble with keeping my earphone volume just right.There should be a difference between SHOUTING and whispering, however with most books I do not have to adjust the volume to hear either extreme once I find a comfortable middle.With this book I found myself taking it up a few notches to hear softly spoken lines, then being blasted out when loud action broke out shortly after.Other than that one inconvenience the reading was nice, and the book itself was very good. ... Read more

Product Description
"COMPELLING . . . NOBODY WRITES A CHASE BETTER THAN PERRY."

 *The Washington Post Book World

When eight-year-old Timothy Decker finds his parents brutally murdered, it's clear the Deckers weren't the intended victims: Timothy's own room--ransacked, all traces of his existence expertly obliterated *is the shocking evidence. Timothy's nanny, Mona, is certain about only one thing. Timmy needs to disappear, fast.

Only Jane Whitefield, a Native American "guide" who specializes in making victims vanish, can lead him to safety. But diverting Jane's attention is Mary Perkins, a desperate woman with S&L fraud in her past. Stalking Mary is a ruthless predator determined to find her *and the fortune she claims she doesn't have. Jane quickly creates a new life for Mary and jumps back on Timmy's case . . . not knowing that the two are fatefully linked to one calculating killer. . . .

"Spellbinding . . . Terrific . . . Jane Whitefield may be the most arresting protagonist in the 90s thriller arena. . . . Thrillers need good villains, and this one has a formidable SOB who is cold-blooded enough to satisfy anybody's taste."

 *Entertainment Weekly

"A terse thriller . . . Perry starts the story with a bang."

 *San Francisco Chronicle

... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Fast-paced thriller with a clever, devious heroine
Jane Whitefield is a blue-eyed, half-Seneca woman who helps people in danger of being killed disappear and establish new identities. In this novel, the second in Thomas Perry's enthralling suspense series, she must protect both an 8-year-old boy who is heir to a multimillion-dollar trust fund and a woman convicted of savings & loan fraud, who has served her time and is on parole, from some evil, murderous men who are after their money.

At first I was afraid I might get lost in all the financial intricacies of trusts and banks, but Perry explains it all clearly without slowing the action. His heroine is clever, devious and resourceful, and I found her instructions to her client on how to establish a new identity and avoid being tracked down fascinating. Jane relies on traditional tribal wisdom as a guide, e.g., that dreams are a good place to obtain secret information. I liked the strain of mysticism running through the fast-paced, complex story, and the thrilling denouement is followed by a most satisfying epilogue.

A slightly shaky sequel
This is second novel about Jane Whitefield, half-Seneca (and half blue-eyed) "guide," whose specialty is helping those on the run disappear into the cracks in society. Most of these fugitives are innocent -- women fleeing from abusive spouses, etc. -- but not all of the. Mary Perkins is one of the latter, a successful practitioner of S&L fraud who was caught and served her time in prison. The thing is, she still has a very large amount of stolen money tucked away that she never admitted to, and if that fact becomes known, her parole will be revoked. So she has no one to turn to when the Really Bad Guys go looking for her hidden wealth -- except Jane. At the same time, Timothy Phillips, whose parents died and left him a huge trust fund, really is one of the innocents -- but he has been targeted by the same Bad Guys. What makes these stories fascinating, at least to me, is the detail Perry brings to the business of convincing society you don't exist. Many of the things Jane does in the mid-1990s wouldn't work today, of course, not in our security-happy post-9/11 world, so it will be interesting to see how she updates her methods. As always, Perry is strong on characterization and back story, and the action seems to flow naturally -- most of the time, anyway. In this case, he appears to have rushed the ending. Earlier in the story, Barraclough demonstrates that he understands how dangerous Whitefield can be, but he seems to have forgotten this in the climactic scenes. And we're never actually told how Jane sets up her final encounter, though it's hinted at. Nor does it seem quite in character for her to coolly take a shotgun to those who are hunting her. Also, Perry seems to think it's necessary to bring in a boyfriend whose existence was never hinted at before. Why?

Extremely Disappointing
I really enjoyed the first Jane Whitefield book and was eager to read the second. Yuck. Jane was totally unappealing this time around; the plot was incredibly contrived. She has, all of a sudden, a lover. Their conversation is contrived and stilted. She acts like a teenager about his phonecalls. What gives?

I was bored by the long descriptions of how money was stolen from savings and loans. The descriptions of sadism were unnecessary. Jane does all kind of illegal things and gets away with all of them, including killing people. She performs tasks such as climbing fences and running for miles that seem impossible to me. She sees people from long distances away in office windows and can tell whether they are bosses or secretaries.

In the first book, the Native American sequences were woven in seamlessly. Here they were a mere add on.

And then, just when I thought I would make it through to the end, I'm stuck in the head of this sadistic guy who's after her. Yuck again. This will be my last Jane Whitefield.

Thomas Perry is a great author!
I have read all of Thomas Perry's books.He is a great author!He manages to combine huge amounts of action and suspense with literate writing and well-developed, sensitive and interesting characters."Dance for the Dead" is about Jane Whitfield, my favorite Thomas Perry character.Jane is a Seneca Indian who grew up near Niagara Falls, and the book is loaded with Indian history.Jane saves people by giving them a new identity and helping them to hide from whatever trouble they are in.This puts her in a lot of danger and provides plenty of opportunity to meet interesting people.Since her life is so dangerous, she keeps a very low profile and doesn't have much of a social life.In this book, she begins a romance with a doctor from her hometown who she has known for a long time, but thankfully this series really sticks to the action and adventure, and never veers too far into romance territory.As other reviewers have noted, it makes me really happy to find a male author who chose to write about such a take-charge, capable woman.I would recommend this whole series to anyone who likes well-written action adventure.

Love Jane!
I love books that are both exciting and actually teach me something--trusts and banking--without slowing down the story.Jane is a fascinating character, a Native American whose culture and history are provided through visions and dreams, who is capable and inventive.This is a very good book in a fascinating series. ... Read more

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This work brings organization and clarity to understanding and implementing best practices in grading and reporting systems. ... Read more

Product Description
A national best-seller and a National Book Award finalist investigates the Clarence Thomas hearings, charging that the Bush Administration waged a campaign of misinformation to discredit Anita Hill. Reprint. National ad/promo. NYT. Amazon.com Review
The falsehoods and distortions involved in the selling ofClarence Thomas to the American people neither started nor ended withthe treatment of Anita Hill's accusations. From the beginning, theplacement of Thomas on the high court was seen as a political endjustifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation thusraises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important,about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth--andthose who tell it--are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way towinning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

A sad tale of politics and ambition
The authors marshal a fairly strong case against the character of Justice Thomas through extensive interviews with people from his past. The distinct possibility that a supreme court justice lied under oath to achieve his life's ambition makes for a very disturbing tale.

An important book that looks better with age
Writing this review in 2009, I know nowthat Justice Thomas was appointed to the SC because he was, quite simply, the only available African-American for the job.Replacing Justice Marshall, a legendary figure in American civil rights, with Justice Thomas was the only move President Bush could make at the time.He had to replace the black man with a conservative black man.

And my, what a tangled web they wove.I am sure that President Bush had little idea how poor a choice Justice Thomas would turn out to be.Aside from the sexual harassment of Anita Hill (and you can be sure, others) and porn rentals, etc., Justice Thomas, given the hindsight of history, has turned out to be one of the most embarrassing judicial appointments in American history.

Known today for practically sleeping through SC proceedings and rarely asking questions, Thomas is surely out of his league on the SC bench.He, as I mentioned, was the only available black man for the job, and has been a miserable failure.

A wonderful and important book that gets better with time.

Hit Job
Disgusting hit job on one of America's most reasoned and intelligent justice's. Sen. Harry Reid, said he wasn't as literate as Scalia but gave no examples. Gee Harry, its not because Justice Thomas is black?

Now more than ever!
When re-reading this marvelously researched, reported, and written account of Clarence Thomas's life and his controversial battle for confirmation as an associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, it was breathtaking to revisit a time and place in the nation's capital not so long ago in which George W. Bush appears NOWHERE in the text or in its index.

As we enter election season, this book is well worth reading (or re-reading) as a cautionary tale about what kind of Supreme Court justices are likely to be added to the nation's highest court as the current justices retire if George W. Bush is elected.

Clarence Thomas comes off vividly as a sullen benefactor of affirmative action at school after school, who turned on thatvery institution after he had benefited handsomely from an education capped by graduation from Yale Law School.David Brock has since recanted his writing of "The Real [sic] Anita Hill."Witnesses to Thomas's his office behavior whose testimony might have been exceedingly damaging were never allowed to speak publicly until interviewed for "Strange Justice."

And relatively early in Thomas's career, while serving in the Missouri state attorney general's office under John C. Danforth, "Thomas liked to taunt another member of the office, who was prim and painfully shy, by making outrageous, gross, and at times off-color remarks.'...He couldn't help but to needle the guy--he just liked to get under his skin,'" said a co-worker.

"The target of Thomas's taunting was John C. Ashcroft," who, of course, currently serves as our nation's Attorney General.Another co-worker interviewed by the authors of "Strange Justice" who also remembered such episodes described Ashcroft as "a tightly wound, straitlaced teetotaler... [he] was easily flustered by Thomas."Ashcroft's discomfort "apparently encouraged Thomas to goad him further," the co-worker noted.

Since his narrow margin of confirmation, Thomas has been one of the quietest members of the bench.Except for a somewhat controversial "at home" piece in PEOPLE magazine about Clarence and Virginia Thomas (his second wife has worked for the Heritage Foundation), he rarely speaks publicly.Recent news reports quote Thomas as saying that he does not read the newspapers.His vote contributed to the 5-4 margin that put George W. Bush in the White House.

Even if you're currently weary of the floodtide of books detailing up-to-the-minute political events, this chronicle from the recent past remains a disturbing, worthwhile sideline into a historical event that may foreshadow similarly controversial Courtnominations in the future.Remember, George H.W. Bush was considered by many Republicans to be "too moderate."Caveat!

Finally the truth
Before you read this book, I would reccomend you read David Brock's "Blinded by the Right".Brock wrote "The Real Anita Hill" which was a right wing smear account of Anita Hill when he was in the throes of right wing idealogy and also per his account in "Blinded by the Right", his mouth was firmly attached to the Right Wing teat, "American Spectator" which was funded by right wing fanatic Richard Mellon Scaife.The funny thing about this book is, when you finish reading this book you will probably feel more anger towards the democrats who controlled the reins of power in the legislative branch at that time in the Senate.Senate Majority leader was George Mitchell and the Judiciary Committe Chairman was Joseph Biden.These two lily livered poltroons ably assisted and co-managed the lynching of Anita Hill in many ways.Biden was so much in love with himself at that time (I think he still is) that he did not want to get involved in any controversy by taking a lead role in giving Hill's testimony a fair shake.He sat on her signed and faxed statement to him for many a day, serially informing other Senators one at a time about the allegations, he agreed to let Hill testify first and then reneged, giving the first turn to Thomas and then brought on Thomas again for a second time after Hill's testimony giving Thomas the last word on the issue.George Mitchell's role is also documented as giving aid and comfort to Biden, speechifying on the Senate floor in support of Biden's modus operandi in the hearings, stone walling women's groups who wanted to delay the floor vote on the nomination by claiming disingenously that he had no power in the matter.The capitulation of the democrats is an amazing read especially at this time when polarization has seeped into every pore of the American body politic.Its amazing how craven the democrats were explaining away their lily livered behaviour as "lending a balanced approach" during the hearings.Some day we will see the denoument to this piece of history.Its not over yet.We will see what becomes of Clarence up high on that bench someday. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (54)

a good read for mystery and suspense fans
This is a good Jane Whitefield novel.It is full of suspense and the chracters are believable.A good story.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

Runner Fatigue
First, I would establish my bona fides.I have read everything that Thomas Perry has written back when doing so meant checking every drug store in town because there were no big box stores or Amazon to put the entire library at your reach.in the vernacular of Jane Whitefield, I was a catcher for his efforts.

I am half way through Runner.I will finish it. It is competent.The set pieces work.Senecas still rule.But one of us is getting tired because this book is taking two days, not one, and, I don't think it is me.

When it comes to Jane Whitefield and Thomas Perry, there is no need for plot exposition.If you haven't been there, go there earlier.If you have been, read this and understand it will be like seeing your prom date from 40 years ago.She'll be there, only slower and less interesting than what you have imagined all these decades.

Couldn't Put it Down!
After reading reviews on this book I was unsure, so I checked it out from my local library. I ended up reading it in two evenings and loved every minute! The book moves fairly quickly without rushing. Although it has 653 pages (Large Print version), it does not go on and on with details that could have easily been omitted. For me, everything about the book was perfect....I loved the heroin, Jane, I loved the pace of the book, I was enthralled with the story, and felt very satisfied with the ending. Although this is one of the later books in the Jane Whitefield series, I am now looking forward to reading some of the earlier ones. Especially, since many of the reviewers state that this was not their favorite in the series. If this one is not up to par with the rest, then the rest must be phenomenal! I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down!

Roadrunner
Runner is a worthy followup to Jane Whitfield's earlier adventures, though it follows a familiar pattern, the "one last heist" type of story made popular by Al Pacino in the last Godfather movie: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"Here, Jane has been happily and quietly married to Corey in the upstate Buffalo Triangle area in which her ancestors lived, fished, hunted, and prayed.Well, perhaps she's not so happy since, as it turns out, she has been patiently waiting for a baby of her own, but for one reason or another, the Seneca gods have shunned her pleas.Perhaps the time was ripe for her to get involved in something she thought she'd long ago paid her farewells to--the business of shielding victims from murderers.Especially with Christine Monohan, a young pregnant girl, barely out of her teens, whom a team of professional assassins has detonated a bomb in a Buffalo hospital merely to flush out.

The book starts with a bang, literally, and I was prepared for it to be just as great as the first three Jane novels, but once we come to understand the lineaments of why people want Christine (and her unborn baby) so bad, it becomes a little ludicrous.Why didn't Perry just go whole hog and decide that Christine was carrying the baby of Satan?Ira Levin did it so well back in the day.Only the capture of the antichrist would justify the things the bad guys do in this novel, and no, Christine's baby is just another baby like any other, so Perry is forced to make all the bad guys into monsters nobody could actually believe in, thereby lessening the suspense a bit.

The book is also too long for what it is, and driving back and forth (several times) across the US from Towananga to Rancho Santa Fe (on the Pacific) has never seemed more tedious.But, all in all, Runner proves once again that, when he puts his mind to it, Thomas Perry can write up a storm, and in addition, what we Perry fans know, Jane Whitfield is an original character with a strange, hypnotic appeal we just want more of all the time.

Runner by Thomas Perry
I have read all 6 of Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield series and found them so interesting, I could hardly put each one down as I was reading it.I hope he will write yet another in this series. ... Read more

Product Description
The second version of "Lady Chatterley's Lover". It is in many ways quite different from the first and last: both in the personalities of Parkin, the gamekeeper (later called Mellors) and Connie Chatterley, and in the development of the love story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Lady Chatterly
If you love romantic passion...read this book; although it will take you back in time passion is still passion.

A wonderful novel
This is a novel you can lose yourself in, never mind any "notorious" tag due to its being one of the three versions of Lady Chatterley's Lover.This "second draft" of Lady Chatterley's Lover is actually much better than the final version.I didn't find it mawkish at all.It's about tenderness, so maybe that's why the other reviewer thought it was "mawkish".Don't look for sensationalism here, this novel is about how two people from different worlds fall in love. It's really superb.

This brilliant �version� is a novel in its own right.
One of the most fascinating things about picking up a book is being able to immerse oneself in the author's world.If the book is a success, one inevitably wonders where such genius comes from, how it develops.Part ofthe pleasure of reading John Thomas and Lady Jane is, therefore, the way itallows us to glimpse the writer's creative process in the second of threedistinct stages in the formation of the idea of Lady Chatterley's Lover. It also allows us to see how D.H. Lawrence develops the various themes hereturns to again and again in his works:overcoming class barriers,discovering sensuality and passion--in the true, deep senses of thewords--and struggling against the brutally mechanical, cold world of modernday life.Yet the attractions of this novel are not limited to the ratheracademic analyses of how he gets from the rough first version to the finalversion of his notorious novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover.Though the plotis roughly developed in some places, almost mawkishly sentimental inothers, John Thomas and Lady Jane is truly a pleasure to read for thoseseeking reaffirmation of the fact that tenderness and compassion stillexist in this world, and that regardless of where, when and whom, it isalways possible for us to find a way of living that truly expresses andembodies who we really are. ... Read more

Product Description
Elizabeth I (1533-1603) impressed herself more vividly on the memory of the world than any other monarch in the history of England. She successfully established and maintained power while refusing to bow to the wishes of those who believed no woman was fit to occupy the English throne. This biography describes the opulent but cruel childhood that shaped the woman Elizabeth became and details her triumphant reign, as well as the unrelenting forces that opposed her. Exploring the answers to some of history's most persistent and intriguing questions, Jane Resh Thomas has created a compelling account of Elizabeth's life that shatters the myths surrounding her and allows readers an unprecedented view of the queen as a human being. Full-color insert, chronology, bibliography, index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

slightly dissappointed
I was excited to get this book, but don't remember in the description when I purchased it, that the pages were coming out of the binding. That was a major bummer. I tried glueing them in, but it's still disappointing.

Excellent
Yes, I think this book can be gruesome for young kids; probably more appropriate for young adults in late teens, interested in studies of Tudor times, the Elizabethan age. I do recommend it!

Of course this is England at a time when people were getting their heads chopped off and/or being burned at the stake.Some of these descriptions gave me nightmares.

This book is very detailed, reaching to the descriptions of every day life and conditions in which Elizabeth lived. Her story is told objectively, not necessarily flattering her.The author paints great visual imagery in regard to how the people of the times struggled with survival and their religious affinities... And Elizabeth's exposure to the royal courts, her general neglect as a young child, and her will to survive in spite of what would take a miracle to take the throne.

Elizabeth had to learn how to guard and protect herself; yet she was still betrayed by many of those who were closest to her.Perhaps it was the human longing to belong and be loved that was her infinite sorrow.It may have been that she privately found her position as Queen ironic, but she did her best not to abuse a system or those which enabled her to be rich and privileged. In the process, she realized she would have to give up having a husband, a lover, or children. I feel this book did an excellent job of getting into the psychology of who Elizabeth was!A fascinating, deep and informative read.

Additional interest and depth following a book club novel
After reading (and thoroughly enjoying) The Queen's Handmaiden by Jennifer Ashley, I chose this book.As I read this biography I enjoyed the portraits, explanatory drawings and maps included throughout the book. I referred to the "Cast of Characters" many times, much easier than making my own list, it had all the information I wanted.I easily finished this book in time for our monthly meeting.After recognizing the depth it added to our discussion, several of my book club friends borrowed the book and also enjoyed it.Begin with this book if you are reading biography, continue with this if you are reading historical fiction, change genres with this if you are watching films.

Nothing New
This woman was the greatest monarch England ever had.Ever.The book, however was a bit disapointing.It is a bare-bones just-the-facts telling of a great women's life and didn't near do her justice.I wanted more.

If general facts and a fast read are all you want, this book is perfect.Just not for me.

The least frumpy queen on record
Take a look at the cover of this book for just a moment.Just a single solitary moment.Maybe the last thing you want to do is read a young adult biography on England's greatest queen, and I can understand where you're coming from.But take a good long look at the image presented on the cover here.This portrait of Queen Elizabeth was fashioned in her time and is commonly referred to as The Rainbow Portrait.It is, to my mind, the most flattering painting ever made of the ruler and it hasn't been touched since she posed for it.When you first look at it, it seems pretty standard.There she is with the high forehead (considered attractive at the time), the bright curly red hair, and the ostentatious finery.In fact, let's take a closer look at that finery.If you look carefully you cannot help but notice that her gown is covered in ears and eyes.You heard me right.Honest to goodness ears and eyes are all over this thing!You don't notice it at first, but once you've seen it you can never forget it.Such is the case with Thomas's book itself.It may not look like much at first, but once you take even a glance at the text you immediately become transfixed by the lives of Elizabeth, her crazy family, suitors, and enemies.

Elizabeth was born the second child of the (in the words of the great comic Eddie Izzard) "big fat hairy king", Henry VIII.Fond of killing off his wives when they either displeased him or couldn't produce male heirs, Elizabeth was the daughter of the soon-to-be beheaded Anne Boleyn.Her life was touch and go from the start.One minute she was treated as a prized pet and the next she was sent to royal grounds far from court.What followed soon after was a series of deaths and accessions to the throne.When Henry VIII died he was followed by Elizabeth's little half-bro Edward VI.When Eddie died he was followed by the Lady Jane Grey (for nine days).After she was tossed out came Elizabeth's older half-sis Mary (Bloody Mary to you commoners).Finally, Mary kicked it and Elizabeth rose to the throne.She was only 25 or 26 at the time and extraordinarily canny in the choices she made.Refusing to marry (and thereby give up her ruling power) Elizabeth remained sexy and single.Over the course of her life she dealt with assassination attempts, the continual threat of Mary Queen of Scots, an invasion of England by the Spanish Armada, excommunication, and all sorts of fun stuff.The result?Elizabeth remains perhaps the best remembered Queen of them all, making her an excellent subject of bios and bio-pics.

I'm easily bored.If I pick up a children's book that won a Newbery Award pre-1950 to read, you'll probably find me curled up in a corner fast asleep in five minutes time.Non-fiction is therefore one of the banes of my existence and I heap large helpings of praise onto any author that can make a realistic subject even halfway interesting.Not being familiar with Jane Resh Thomas, I was understandably nervous when I confronted this tome of a book and its 16th century subject.To my vast relief, my fears were more than unfounded.Here is a history book that has plumbed every interesting tidbit, rumor, factoid, and story for the eager ears of the reader.Want to hear how Queen Elizabeth would expose her chest to foreign diplomats (to put them on edge, you see)?Read it here.Curious about her six foot tall rival who was a queen that disguised herself as a boy to gain English sanctuary?It's a great tale.None of this is to say that Thomas neglects actual informative facts about the Elizabethan era and its people.In fact, this kind of information is so plentiful that it fills each and every page without ever drawing undue attention to itself.I think I learned more about ancient court life within these pages than I could have hoped to anywhere else.

In addition to fabulous factual storytelling and a wonderful ear for narrative, tension, and intrigue, Thomas has filled the book with numerous paintings of the characters involved, even going so far as to include Elizabeth's life in portraits as a color filled section of seven portraits that follow her through the years.To help the easily confused (like my pretty self) there's a fabulous opening section that names and describes many of the book's major players.There's also a portrait gallery of Henry VIII's wives and description of their mostly shortened lives.The back of the book contains a useful chronology of events, a well-cited bibliography of every source Thomas used or even thought of using, and an index.You're in safe hands with this thorough researcher.

Thomas attempts in this book to show the life of Elizabeth without commenting on her too much.Yes, Elizabeth could be as cruel and calculating as her predecessors and she wasn't afraid to "Off with their head" a couple of her closest compatriots.In the end, however, she comes off as a remarkable woman.Thomas leaves plenty of room for speculation on lurid topics that cover everything from Elizabeth's sex life to her love of sweets for dinner.Nothing here is written in stone, but this is probably as good a teen biography of this great woman you're going to get for at least another one hundred years.As someone who looked upon reading this book initially as a chore, I can tell you honestly that it was a joy to go through.A biography that deserves remembrance. ... Read more

Product Description
Clym Yeobright returns from Paris to the village of his birth, inspired to improve the life of its men and women. But his plans are upset when he falls in love with a beautiful, darkly discontented girl, Eustacia Vye, who longs to escape from her provincial surroundings. ... Read more

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comic fandom magazine ... Read more

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The Classic Story by Charlotte Bronte' ... Read more

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The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle offer a window onto the lives of two of the Victorian world’s most accomplished, perceptive, and unusual inhabitants. Scottish writer and historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle, attracted to them a circle of foreign exiles, radicals, feminists, revolutionaries, and major and minor writers from across Europe and the United States. The collection is regarded as one of the finest and most comprehensive literary archives of the nineteenth century. ... Read more

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In its seventh edition, Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy continues to provide material that will encourage reflective and critical examination of key contemporary moral problems. With additional readings and a new organization that groups related chapters together under four categories, this edition enhances the teachability that was the most salient characteristic of previous editions. The text maintains its ability to bring the central issues into clear focus, while allowing supporting arguments for widely diverse positions to be presented by those who embrace them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Social Ethics
Dense read, but very insightful. Seller was up-front about the condition of the book. If you're taking an ethics course, this is definitely a good read.

Decent
It came pretty quick, but in an envelope and there was a lot of bending and writing in the book, but over all it was ok.

Great book for the classroom
I am taking a social ethics class and I needed this book for the class. While it is a textbook, it is still an excellent resource for those needing information on social ethics. It is very informative and extremely helpful for research.

Another Overpriced College Book
Book required for a college course. Should be around $25 - not $71! Would not have purchased if not needed for school.

Social Ethics
Very quick delievery to my house, plenty of time before school. A little more hi-liting than I previously anticipated, but overall good condition. ... Read more

Product Description
The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle offer a window onto the lives of two of the Victorian world’s most accomplished, perceptive, and unusual inhabitants. Scottish writer and historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle, attracted to them a circle of foreign exiles, radicals, feminists, revolutionaries, and major and minor writers from across Europe and the United States. The collection is regarded as one of the finest and most comprehensive literary archives of the nineteenth century.

In volume 31, which covers the year 1856, the Carlyles continue a rigorous correspondence, depicting and examining Victorian London as well as its inhabitants. They also return to their native Scotland and offer details of their travels in the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands. ... Read more

Product Description
The institutional forms of liberal democracy developed in the nineteenth century seem increasingly ill-suited to the problems we face in the twenty-first. This dilemma has given rise in some places to a new, deliberative democracy, and this volume explores four contemporary empirical cases in which the principles of such a democracy have been at least partially instituted: the participatory budget in Porto Alegre; the school decentralization councils and community policing councils in Chicago; stakeholder councils in environmental protection and habitat management; and new decentralised governance structures in Kerala. In keeping with the other Real Utopias Project volumes, these case studies are framed by an editors' introduction, a set of commentaries, and concluding notes. ... Read more

Product Description
The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle offer a window onto the lives of two of the Victorian world’s most accomplished, perceptive, and unusual inhabitants. Scottish writer and historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle, attracted to them a circle of foreign exiles, radicals, feminists, revolutionaries, and major and minor writers from across Europe and the United States. The collection is regarded as one of the finest and most comprehensive literary archives of the nineteenth century.

Four occurrences pervade this new collection of letters: the decline and death of Thomas Carlyle’s mother; Thomas’s continued research of Frederick the Great; the Carlyles’s struggle against the perpetual irritation of urban noise, particularly roosters, which led to the construction of a soundproof room; and the Carlyles’ introduction to Talbotypes, an early form of photography. While domestic concerns pervade the volume, it also provides the usual insight into societal and political culture of the 1850s through the couple’s interaction with influential figures, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Delia Bacon. ... Read more

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Daniel, a Midwestern farm boy, finds a battered dog in a ditch and nurses it back to health, but is disappointed when the dog doesn't immediately respond to his gestures of affection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

School literature set
*spoiler alert*

This book is about family who lives on a farm and had a dog, named Captain.After their dog died their son Daniel rescues a starving dog from a tunnel who they name Lady.Daniel nurses her back to health and when she gets healthy she snarls at him which hurts his feelings.One day they took a walk together and he let her go off into the woods because he was mad.Afterwards he felt bad and worried about her.He stayed up at night and kept looking out the window for her to come back.Towards the end Lady came back and Daniel was happy.

The part of the book I did not like was when Daniel put a choke chain on Lady.

Good
I really liked the books altho the spongebob books werent what I expected, they were suppose to be for an 11 year old, but at any cost my 6 year old ended up getting them. Other than that I was very happy with the products.

A Very Warm and Loving Book!
Do you like books that make you feel happy and sad at the same time??If so then this book is great for you.It is about a boy whose dog that dies and he finds a new dog that is about to die.He cares for the dog and feeds it until it is healthy.Then one day something happens to the dog and the boy is very worried.What happened to the dog?If you want to know then read the book.

A Very Warm and Loving Book!
Do you like books that make you feel happy and sad at the same time??If so then this book is great for you.It is about a boy whose dog that dies and he finds a new dog that is about to die.He cares for the dog and feeds it until it is healthy.Then one day something happens to the dog and the boy is very worried.What happened to the dog?If you want to know then read the book.

A Very Warm and Loving Book!
Do you like books that make you feel happy and sad at the same time??If so then this book is great for you.It is about a boy whose dog that dies and he finds a new dog that is about to die.He cares for the dog and feeds it until it is healthy.Then one day something happens to the dog and the boy is very worried.What happened to the dog?If you want to know then read the book. ... Read more

Product Description
A stunning new joint biography from the acclaimed author of George Eliot.

The Carlyles lived at the heart of English life in mid-Victorian London, but both were outsiders, a Scottish pair who looked caustically at the society they so influenced -- Carlyle through his copious writings, and both through their network of acquaintances and correspondents. This is not only a portrait of a marriage but a picture of an age. It is elegant, erudite and entertaining. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An unappealing portrait of the Sage of Chelsea
The marriage between the Carlyles was a complicated one.Jane Carlyle was very much a person in her own right, and her witty and often mocking letters suggest that she could have been an author herself. Visitors to their house in Chelsea were as charmed by her as they were impressed by her husband. There seems to have been little sexual attraction between them, and it has been suggested that their marriage was never consummated.They were often apart, Carlyle escaping the summer heat in London, and Jane, too, often travelling on her own.

She was proud of Carlyle's achievements, but resented the patronizing nature of his affection for her.The most fulfilment she found was in her friendship with foreign exiles, notably with Mazzini.Carlyle's besotted and extravagantly expressed admiration from the 1840s onwards for Lady Harriet Baring/Ashburton (much idolized also by many other Victorian worthies) put an enormous strain on Jane, though she frequently accepted Lady Harriet's hospitality not only together with her husband but even sometimes on her own.Her letters to her friends became more and more desperate and bitter about her husband, and for the last ten years of her life she also poured out her bitterness and resentment in a journal which a repentant Carlyle found after her death.

He had always been a difficult husband - frequently gloomy, bad-tempered and literally dyspeptic.He cavilled when his economical wife asked for more house-keeping money to meet rising costs. He dismissed concern for the role of women in society as `George Sandism'.Perhaps by way of assuaging his guilt, he would join in the laughter at Jane's public mocking descriptions his crotchetiness and his fits of temper;and he seems never to have written to or about her with the bitterness that she expressed about him.Until very nearly the end of her life, he seems to have been obtusely unaware of just how much she suffered.She was afflicted by a multitude of indispositions some of whichmay have been caused by the tensions she experienced in her life, and for which she took large doses of Victorian medication.There are occasional references to Carlyle's own mental torments, but that subject is not adequately explored.

Otherwise Rosemary Ashton leaves very little out, trivia included, and the book is rather swamped in exhaustively researched but often indigestible details about the couple's meetings with famous (and many not at all famous) people.In their prolific letters both Carlyle and Jane regularly give descriptions, often sarcastic, of the physical appearance and mannerisms of those they met; but for all that, relatively few of them truly come to life.

The book is far more than the `Portrait of a Marriage' of its subtitle.Not having read any biographies of Carlyle before this one, I would like to addsomething about the other aspects of his life that have interested me.

Carlyle's fame started late.There were a handful of people apart from Jane who early on appreciated his genius; but that was based on his conversation and on the reviews with which he eked out a penurious living for so many years.The subject of many of his reviews - his admiration of transcendental German thought and literature - was not initially something that would make him famous at home; but it was appreciated abroad, by no less a person than Goethe.Carlyle wrote a life of Schiller, who had been Goethe's friend.Goethe translated it into German, while Carlyle in turn published a translation of Goethe's `Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'.

Carlyle's philosophical stance was unique: a critic of the Enlightenment and Utilitarianism for their materialism, he was at the same time critical of the pretensions of the ruling classes in Church and State.He sided with neither Reform nor Reaction, but thundered in his idiosyncratic declamatory style against both.He eventually made his breakthrough in 1837 with his dramatic history of the French Revolution, when he was 41; after which people began to read his `Sartor Resartus' (The Tailor Retailored), which, having been serialized in a magazine, was published in book form in 1838.In this book Carlyle's alter ego, Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, among other things strips off the pompous clothing of his characters to show what, if anything, lies underneath.

His strong sense of justice gave him a genuine sympathy for the poor. This comes out most powerfully in `Past and Present' (1843), a `condition of England' story which became the precursor of many Victorian novels andof Engels' `Condition of the Working Class in England'.Carlyle believed that England could not look for remediesto the `National Palaver' (Parliament), but needed a strong leader.He had already lectured favourably on `Heroes and Hero-Worship' (published 1842), and would write books on heroes he admired: Oliver Cromwell (1845) and a six-volume life of Frederick the Great (1857 to 1865).In the middle of the Crimean War, he wrote that he preferred even Tsarist autocracy and `Grand-Turkism' to representative democracy.

Though still revered by many, Carlyle's high standing began to wane in the late 1840s as others became tired not only of his vehement style but also of the intemperate and unpleasant nature of his attacks on, for example: the Irish (much as he sympathized with their suffering during the Famine); the emancipated blacks and the concern of `rosepink Sentimentalism' for their continued oppression; the Americans (despite that fact that, thanks to the advocacy of Emerson, `Sartor Resartus' had been a success in America before it became famous in England); prisoners being `coddled' in newly built model-prisons; as well as his usual targets of parliamentary government, laissez-faire, Utilitarianism and the `Pig Philosophy' of organized Christianity.

Jane died suddenly in 1866.She had recovered from a severe illnessin 1863/4; Carlyle at last showed her more affection and she felt more for him.After her death Carlyle wrote only one more work: a collection of her letters and his reminiscences of her.He left these to be published after his death (in 1881) to his biographer, J.A.Froude.

an excellent biography of a famously unhappy couple
As I expected from Ashton (having read her admirable biographies of George Eliot and G.H. Lewes), this is an excellent biography, thorough and well-researched.Ashton is sympathetic to both Carlyles, who had a famously unhappy marriage, yet objective, never taking sides; she understands Carlyle's tortured genius and neglect of his wife as well as Jane's self-pity and repressed talents and observantly shows how their difficult personalities interacted with each other as well as with their friends and family. ... Read more

Product Description
This edition makes available letters from Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850) to Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and Jane Welsh Carlyle (1801-1866) for the first time. The letters present a compelling personal and intellectual narrative of nineteenth-century Britain. Francis Jeffrey met Thomas Carlyle in February 1827 and an intense friendship developed. In the republic of letters, the two men could not have been further apart. Jeffrey, editor of the pro-Whig "Edinburgh Review" clashed with Carlyle, the sage of Victorian Britain. Their exchanges represent the conflict between the inheritance of the Scottish Enlightenment and a newer set of Victorian values. However, their friendship survived years of mutual exasperation.Carlyle later reminisced that Jeffrey 'seemed bent on converting me from what he called my "German Mysticism" - back merely, as I could conceive, into dead Edinburgh Whiggism, Scepticism and Materialism'. Jeffrey's side of the extant correspondence is held at the National Library of Scotland. The body of letters has never been transcribed or published in its entirety and is available here for the first time.The Carlyles' letters are available in "The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle" (Duke University Press). The Pickering & Chatto edition is intended to complement this edition and is carefully arranged and cross-referenced so that the two resources support each other. It benefits from a general introduction, headnotes, endnotes and an index.It will be essential for those working in Carlyle Studies, Romanticism, Victorian Studies, Scottish Studies, and the History of Publishing. It offers a unique insight into the lives and minds of two of the most contentious and influential figures of nineteenth-century Britain and maps the transitional period from Romanticism to Victorianism. It is the first time this body of letters has been fully transcribed and published. Its new editorial material includes an introduction, headnotes, endnotes and an index. ... Read more