Mr. Reston is no Barbara Touchman
349134
Mr. Reston is a more of a surveyor of history than a fine writer. The text of the book at best is serviceable but is frequently annoying. However, even Mr. Reston's spotty and sometimes chafing writing style cannot erase his interesting source material concerning the protagonists, Saladin and Richard. Nevertheless, Mr. Reston's writing style reminded me a red wine from Chile--it's red wine but, compared with the Napa or Bordeaux original, has an odd finish and is otherwise inferior. For example,  in one passage concerning the exodus of "Christians" (i.e., the catchall term of unbelievers) from Jurusalem after the city fell to Saladin, Mr. Reston states that Saladin's Muslim guards caught "a fool . . . trying to slip his gold savings out in a wine gourd", without explaining Mr. Reston's unstated assumptions as to why this person's understandable motives are foolish. Also, references are made to "the pogroms in the Rhineland and in the Danube Valley" without further elaboration, which I found unsatisfying.
1114832
Bill's writing is OK and I usually enjoy his show but found it beyond disingenuous when he claimed that "The cover art has nothing to do with the book title." Give us a break! The Title reads from Left to Right (as English does) and the original book artwork is Obama (on the left), O'Reilly (on the right). So he calling the President a "Pinhead" and himself a "Patriot". So what? It's his book he can do as he pleases. Just really turned me off that he made that ridiculous claim (SPIN). Does the picture of President Lincoln on the cover of his book "Killing Lincoln" also have nothing to do with the title? Absurd.
3696448
Not my kind of story.  I'm not into reading about vile and vicious people. I accidently ordered it when I ordered a John Grisham title.  The two names are easily confused, but it won't happen again.  Joshua Graham is nothing like John Grisham.  This VERY short story is full of bad grammar; actually misspelled words,  spell check won't let misspelled words pass by but does nothing to stop an author from using the wrong word ,( ie. when for went).
864644
I know what the advertisements for Down With Love have been reading like, and the actual movie couldn't be farther from their misleading message. This movie is nothing like those sweet sentimental and tasteful movies of the fifties. The ads claim that they play some type of tribute or homage to the Rock and Day films. On the disappointing contrary, this film makes fun of the Rock and Hudson movies, and makes a disrespectful parody of the great classics.
First of all, Rene Z. walks around in a prissy manner, as if that is in any way how Doris Day used to walk. Second of all, Rock Hudson was closer to James Bond. While Ewen MacGregor is closer to Austen Powers. MacGregor is just too goofy and un-studly for this role. And the chemistry with Rene is zilch.
I found this film offensive because its advertisements lead me to believe I would be seeing a recreation of those old lovely movies.
In the Director's monologue, he says that the sexual innuendo is present as it is in those old movies. However, the old movies had tasetful innuendos. They weren't overt and raunchy. And the scene with the split line phone conversation...please, it could hardly be called "suggestive" as the director put it, but flat out, blatantly crass.
Skip this cheap parody and view the authentic movies with the authentic stars.
869109
I wish I had read the first review and realized it was a relative that gave this 5 stars. No plot, no likeable (or unlikeable) characters. A compelte wast of time.  This guy is no Anne Rice...
4854241
Crystal's rewriting of history does no one any service. The historical scene about Mantle complaining that he "failed" his draft induction physical is laughable at best. Mantle was selected to the all star team that year! He was MVP later! Mantle was known as the "fastest man to first base" at this time, and his complaint that he couldn't serve is a joke. Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, while in Korea on his SECOND tour of military duty (WWII was his first), stated when he was crash landed his fighter jet, he ran away from it "FASTER THAN MICKEY MANTLE!" Crystal a draft dodger himslf (Vietnam), should be ashamed of this portrayal of Mantle and rewriting history! Disgusting.
1170531
Although this book is illustrated by Steven Kellogg, it really isn't appropriate for today's child.  The naked bum is not so bad, similar to David's bum in No! David!, but the scene where Mrs. Fink and the sheriff engage in a shoot out is.  The author tells us that they aren't crack shots, so they only wing each other.  But she riddles his car with buckshot, and he puts out all of the windows in her house.
There is so much better literature out there with uplifting messages, and appropriate humor, that this book should be retired from any collection.  It is being retired from my school library today.
2171591
The greatest loss is not the death of a loved one but the actual deception of someone you thought was true-blue, but was entirely a made-up deception on a whole town. We believed in him and what he had to write, he couldn't speak as he was never trained as a public speaker. But we were led to believe that he did "research" and wallowed in "micro fiche" of old newspapers. False! Finally, the truth wills out when he admits that I don't know him. He really is the office boy (lackey) I thought the first time I met him. Two others had claimed to be the writer, but it was various and sundry who did the actual columns, not just one person. He sure fooled me. He is supposedly someone calling himself.  First, he self-published two books of tabloid columns purportedly by him but now he is giving credit to others as follows: Knoxville's Secret History by Jack Neely, Aaron Jay, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 1, 1995), and Secret History II: Stories About Knoxville, Tennessee by Jack Neely, Ed Richardson, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 20, 1998). Lisa Horstman must be the maiden name of Janet, but who is Ed Richardson. That's a new one on me.

What was supposedly history of old happenings in this town he admits to me is pure fiction based on the book, Sutree. Sordid and scandalous events which never happened except in his imagination. He is no Kipling but "borrowed" Paul Theroux's Secret History book as the title of the tabloid columns since 1995. He has created a sordid and scathing "past" which didn't happen. He has been on a sex craze from times gone by also which didn't happen as he wrote. He even promoted a fictional account of a prominent person who helped to write Harbrace Handbook for English. He is merely the office boy and others do the writing for which he gets credit. When he tries to talk to literary groups, he hems and haws and never says anything substantial as he can't remember what it was he wrote. Now, he has written about gay marriage. He tricked me, as he has tricked the newcomers to this sordid town. It is turning into a drug culture in the downtown area. One of them (actually two counting the wife) are now in prison for marjuiana sales and the properties they managed to pull over the officials as legitimate. People like them have ruined this town. And they have used the services of one Neely who is a pretender. Cas Walker would turn over in his grave if he knew what this person has done to appear as someone from a century ago who existed only in his imagination.  The trashy pieces are written by others using his name so as to have some authesity.  He has built a career with writings by other people.  He inherited a great deal of loss, which was forcoming for his deception.
1464127
I am 50% finished with this book and will not go to the end.  I was so very happy to read reviews saying Mr. Margolin has returned with a winner this time.  I disagree completely.  The characters are like cardboard, the plot trite,  predictable  and elementary.  Not one character was interesting enough for me to feel anything good, bad or indifferent about their situations.  For me to not finish a book is completely out of character as I have been reading mysteries for 35 years and have finished even the worst of the mediocre.  I would strongly suggest not wasting your money on The Third Victim.  I intend to ask for a refund.
3172058
I just purchased this book less than an hour ago, but I'm already annoyed.  If you are going to write a book about little known events and heroes, it would be helpful to, at the very minimum, correctly name the subjects of your book.

There is an entire section devoted to the State of Franklin, and it's founder, John Sevier, who (we are told in this book) was nicknamed "Nolichunky Jack."  Uh, no.  He was known as NoliCHUCKY Jack, after the NoliCHUCKY River.  I mean, come on.  Nolichunky?

I'm not even that interested in reading the rest of the book if an error that screamingly glaring is not caught by the author or publisher.  It's like writing a book about Richard Nixon and calling him "Tricky Rick" throughout. Or calling Lighthorse Harry Lee, "Lighthouse Harry Lee".

Argh!
4108746
I was interested in the topic of rekindled romance but I was not interested in the author's personal story. The book is not well organized and the stories aren't particularly interesting. But the book did do me some good - it pointed me to the rekindled romance research expert, Dr Nancy Kalish, who has her own book and web site. This is the real thing. Skip the celebrity and read the professor.
4442108
Olasky may be the editor of the World, but he is either ignorant of history or what it means to be a Christian. Jackson was one of the most imoral presidents in American history. His actions towards Native Americans  is deplorable. No man responsible for such atrosities is either a Christian  or moral in my book. God save our nation from such leaders. While men such  as Clinton are morally reprehensible, they are not responsible for the  supression of an entire race of people. Perhaps Christianity and our nation  would be beter served by a morality that reflected the teachings of Christ.  A morality that values all humanity. Christ died for all mankind, not just  white Europeans. Needless to say what Olasky views as Christian and moral  is far from the biblical standard.
276110
A cleaner version of the original, I won't even put in the title, it's offensive.
3525482
I'm not going to beat around the bush. I don't like this particular author, Jonathan Glancey. Why? I've picked up a few books by him based on all the rave reviews, and every time there are little things he says here and there in them that rub me the wrong way. Sometimes he makes flippant marks, expresses some kind of bias, says something historically inaccurate or makes an obnoxious comment that lends you to think that he's kind of a jerk in real life.

This book of his is the one that kind of confirmed why I've always gotten some kind of unpleasant vibe from him. He casually mentions that one day when he was traveling in Egypt, he saw a man with a cart beating a donkey. He then went to "rescue" the donkey by punching the driver in the face. It's bad enough that Glancey relays this completely irrelevant story in a book about the history of cars, but he does it with a mixture of faux remorse and self-congratulation. This is the classic "jerkiness" of Glancey's personality coming through to the fore, something I always sensed in his other books but was in full display in this particular one. Once I read that story, I was completely turned off by the book and ever since then have been looking to unload it on someone else. It's not that he's a bad writer. He's such an unpleasant person to read, and the unpleasantness takes away from whatever merit he has as an author.

If there's anything good I can say about this book, it's that it has beautiful photographs and is nicely designed. But the text itself, forget it. You can find a better, more enjoyable writer to read than this one on the history of cars.
2080185
For an example of what this author can really do, read "Barney's Version."

It seems that Richler specializes in making dislikeable characters (see Terry MacIver in "Barney's Version"), but he hadn't reached his peak as of this writing.

The character development is not all that good, nor is the general direction of the plot. In short, it's just one more among many kitsch bildungsroman. Save your time.
829262
A house is not a character. Denny is a great character. A wrong turn was made here.
4553047
This is not Michael Palin's version, but a cartoon.

Amazon should be ashamed to pair it with Himalaya.