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2 audio cassettes ... Read more

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"Masterpieces of Oratory"The Fifth Avenue Press, New York & London, 1900 Revised EditionEdition De Luxe - Limited to One Thousand Copies Inside Volume 8 is a facimile signature of Wilmer Edward Woodward, Managing EditorApproximate size each: 9-3/8" x 6-1/8" x 1-1/2"Volume I: "Orations of American Orators" Vol I - Including biographical and critical sketcehs, with a special introduction by A.P.C. Griffin of the Congressional Library - two pages loose; 57-58, & 59-60Volume 2: "Orations of American Orators" Vol II - by A.P.C. Griffin of the Congressional Library - frontispiece looseVolume 3: "Orations of American Orators" Vol III - By A.P.C. Griffin of the Congressional LibraryVolume 4: "Orations of British Orators" Vol I - Including biographical and critical sketches, with a special introduction by Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. formerly Keeper of Printed Books in the British Museum LibraryVolume 5: "Orations of British Orators" Vol II by Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. of the British Museum LibraryVolume 6: "Orations of Foreign Orators" French, German, Italian, and Spanish Orations, including biographical and critical sketches, with a special introduction to the French Orators by Leon Vallee, Librarian at the Bibliotheque NationaleVolume 7: "Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero" Including biographical and critical sketches, with a special introduction by John Carew Rolfe, PH.D., Professor of Latin in the University of Michigan - more damp markings on pages than other volumesVolume 8: "Orations of Desmosthenes" Including biographical and critical sketches, with a special introduction by Austin H. Merrill, A.M., Professor of Elocution in Vanderbilt University - more damp markings on pages than other volumes ... Read more

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It will take some daring and improbable deductions by Inspector Morse, the world's most popular fictional detective, to solve two complicated murders in Oxford, England. These two abridged stories are recorded on 4 tapes with approximate running time of 6 hourse ... Read more

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Edward Lincoln had scaled the Himalayas, survived deadly car chases, defeated scores of assassins. As a film action man he'd even suffered stoically at the hands of sadistic directors. After finishing his latest film, he's asked to visit South Africa to discover why a dying friend's horses are suddenly doing so badly on the race track. Unfortunately, this attempt to help a friend soon puts Lincoln in harm's way. From a nearly fatal interview to a dangerous mishap in a gold mine, it seems only luck is keeping him alive. But fate has more in store. When the scene in the Kruger wildlife park begins to resemble Lincoln's latest big-screen adventure, even he will wonder what comes next...'A wonderfully vivid and sinister conclusion in the Kruger National Park' - "Sunday Times". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Disappointment in Kindle version
My boyfriend bought me a kindle for my birthday and the first book I downloaded was none other than a Dick Francis I hadn't already read. I love his books, and this was no exception, but the quality of the kindle copy was appalling. Spelling mistakes, incorrect words and bad punctuation. It marred my enjoyment of the book, and at over [...] I felt ripped off. I'd rather have the real book.

Superlative suspense
This is one of my favorite Dick Francis novels. The characters are superb, the plotting as clever as it gets, the climax nightmarish, the retribution delicious.

I don't normally warm to novels about actors, but Edward Lincoln (Link to friends) is a thoroughly likeable guy. He has nothing in common with the superheroes he portrays in film after film. He's not a crack shot, can't fly an airplane or dismantle bombs and doesn't speak Russian. He's happiest at home with the family between films.

Link's father worked in a stable, and Link would have liked to be a jockey, but he grew too tall too quickly as a lad. Anyway, he knows horses. An old family friend who doesn't have long to live asks Link to fly to South Africa and find out why her nine racehorses never win a race anymore. She's convinced that Link is as ingenious as the larger-than-life characters he plays.

Just to be kind, Link makes the trip. As it turns out, he needs to be both lucky and clever to stay alive.

This is not a political novel, despite the South Africa location. It should be read purely for the adventure.

Forever Francis
Dick Francis is a master story teller. Every book I have ever read of his, almost all of them, is entertaining, well written and completely enjoyable. This one certainly falls in that category. Never start one of his books unless you have time because you will not be able to put it down. What a splendid writer.

Smikescreen
I collect Dick Francis novels.He gave me company when I remodeled the kitchen and had no TV.

Dick Francis is ALWAYS in first place!
Dick Francis consistently writes books that people love to read -- again and again!I own all of his books and have had to replace some due to wear!I started in 1988 with The Edge and was hooked!Try any of his books and you will feel the same.Thank you, Dick Francis! ... Read more

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The African Queen is an old, dirty, ugly, unreliable steamboat. No one would take a boat like that down a dangerous river through the jungles of Central Africa during the First World War. But Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut do just that. They come close to death many times, but no one would expect a missionary's sister and a rough, uneducated mechanic to fall in love ...The film of this famous love and adventure story, made in 1951, starred Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, and went on to become one of the most popular films ever made. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A good little adventure
Although personally I do not believe the writers best work (Hornblower is just incredible), it is still a fantastic read. One of the best writers I believe in anything associated with maritime and naval stories.
This story has only a few elements to work with but creates a great light read. The story is so good there is no need for any major complex twists, turns or tricks making it very digestible. A welcome read if you have just spent the last few books in heavy intense thrillers or of the like.
The writer obviously knew what they were talking about as some of the details are not only incredibly interesting, but also incredible at creating suspense. The details do not bore you at all and treats you like you are intelligent enough to understand what is being said, which is a massive relief from the spoon feeding of other writers.
The book is a well written breath of fresh air. Like tea on the porch in the fall. lol.

African Queen - too little for a book - but a fine screen play
The African Queen - C.S. Forrester.Weak. Good, but weak. The movie may have won an academy award but the book comes up short. More of a novella, or screenplay than a book. The author could have doubled the text and it may well have been a good book. I appreciate the drama of the two people pulled from separate worlds that are changed dramatically by unfolding events and raise themselves to previously unimagined feats of character and bravery. Still, it was a wasted effort, two little to hang it all on and a pointless ending.

in this case the movie was better
If I love a movie, I will often read the book with the expectation that it will be better.
In this case I think the movie is better than the book. Not that it is a bad book, I found it enjoyable enough. I just think that Bogey's and Hepburn's interpretation of the characters is what really brought this story to life.

The ending redeems itself
Throughout most of the book, I found myself thinking, "This is one case where I like the movie better." Although the plot for the first 3/4 of the book is the same as the movie's, the characterization is a bit different. For example, the movie portrays Rose as a determind, principled, yet prim woman who slowly learns to love; in the book, she comes across as a bit immature, supposedly the result of being repressed by men her entire life, and is so thrilled with the freedom earned by her brother's recent death that she decides to kamikaze a German boat. Personally, I found the movie's Rose more realistic and likeable; the book's Rose felt too much like a poster child of feminist propoganda.

In general, most of the novel is a bit heavy-handed is describing the character's motives, characters, and thought processes, and leaves very little to the imagination. Subtlety, apparently, is not Forester's strong point.

The only thing keeping me from giving this book a lower rating is the ending. Forester truly redeems himself in my eyes with the ending, which is far darker and more realistic than the movie's. The ending calls into question everythng that you assumed that Forester was trying to tell you -- all the notions of heroism, patriotism, and true love. The last line is probably one of my favorite of all last lines,


(Spoiler space)



forcing you to ask yourself: Are Charlie and Rose truly soulmates, or has an extreme situation simply brought them together and instigated passion? While in the movie it is clear that Charlie and Rose truly love another, the book suggests that their "love" may simply be due to the arousal that arises during a near-death situation. For me, this very human, bittersweet ending enabled me to forgive Forester for his earlier heavy-handed treatment of the characters.

Was This A College Writing Assignment?
I was shocked to learn how bad this book really is.The title is so beloved by many as the Bogart/Hepburn classic, and one would expect the book to not only match the Hollywood translation but to dwarf it with typical literary superiority.Not so.The basic plot itself is brilliant enough in its simplicity: two unlikely characters (the archetypical Cockney grease monkey and the chaste maiden) have an adventurous float down an untamed river on a cocked-up mission to sink a German gunship.Ok so far.What Forester does with this promising seed is ridiculous and leaves the reader wondering whether this was all just a vehicle for Forester to deliver a little saucy "maiden-missionary-loses-her-virginity" stuff mixed in with his clearly evident views that missionaries are idiots.Forester's story is outrageous on all levels.From the timely and chance first meeting between Rose and Allnut, to the mere minutes that it took for Rose to hatch her ignorant plot to sink a German warship, to Allnut's agreement to participate, to the absurd success of the journey, to the ridiculous "Cockney ingenuity" with which Allnut fashions a propeller out of a coconut or some such stunt, Forester lays a number of eggs.The creme de la creme is Rose's glorious fall from grace.This whole angle of the book borders on soft porn, at least by 1930's standards.Are we to believe that this apparently devout missionary woman has maintained her purity for all these years just to give it all to this unbathed louse?Forester clearly delighted in this stuff: at one point, he actually describes Rose's 'chests' as literally levitating with her newfound vigor and energy - having replaced her former existence of Christian bondage with a new life of unbridled jungle boogie.Come on.Last criticism, with a SPOILER ALERT: the movie's ending is much better than the novel's.Whereas the movie made the boat (the very namesake of the book) into one of the main characters that ultimately sunk the German gunboat, Forester sinks the Afican Queen early and unceremoniously, and then takes the reader through an irrelevant account of Belgian naval manuevers and German military justice.Anyway, I've written enough: stick to the movie. ... Read more