A diamond in the rough
357671
This is one of the best romance books I have ever read. The characters are  full and realistic and the story keeps moving at a fascinating pace. I am  disheartened to see that the author (who goes by another name) has not  repeated herself to her full potential. She is truly gifted at crafting a  story, which is a difficult task to undertake. I only hope she continues to  write as Serena Richards in the future and I look forward to seeing if she  can copy herself in her newer books.  Please, don't miss this story, it  could be made into a movie.
2924248
What can I say?  This group (in my humble opinion) is a diamond in the rough, with a very bright future.  Their musicianship, and their collective compositional talent, are exemplary!  My recommendation: Treat yourself and others to the music of this outstanding band!
433449
Review
by Richard W. Wise, G.G.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Secrets-of-the-Gem-Trade-The-connoisseur-s-Guide-to-Precious-Gemstones/dp/0972822380/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Secrets of the Gem Trade: The connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones</a>

First off, this is a beautiful tome.  Beautifully designed using the highest quality paper and binding.

This was the first and most comprehensive overview of colored diamonds until the publication of Hofer's seminal work.  It is well researched and written containing much useful knowledge.

The photographs are beautiful as well and rumor has it were taken by Tino Hammid, a man considered by many as the ultimate gemstone photographer.  That said,some of these images have been tarted up rather a lot.  So much so that the actual gem might be something of a disappointment.  This is unfortunate as it raises unrealistic expectations in the mind of a potential collector.

If you see a gem that looks as good as those in Mr. Harris' book, sell all that you have in buy it.  Fact is, unless you are a member of the top 1%, that's what it is going to take.

Altogether an excellent introduction and overview of colored diamonds

Richard W. Wise, G.G.  Author:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-French-Blue/dp/0972822364/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The French Blue</a>
3264177
This is one of those diamonds in the rough you could easily miss.  For one thing, they are straight-up, old school heavy metal act out of New York, and I'm not sure if they are even still active.  I picked this up after seeing them live in Allentown, PA years ago.  (Quite a live show they put on!  Only saw them once, but they were great--really don't know what happened to them.)  They are in the vein of classic Maiden, but doing their own thing for sure.  I'm not sure who will get these references, but this band strikes me somehow to be a mix of classic Running Wild and the best of Satan, sitting in a stew of classic Maiden.  But they have their own sound, and I wish we could get some more of it somehow.

Their female singer has a lot of attitude and is quite talented with a lot of power.  No thin-voiced, operatic wanna-be here.  She has her own distinctive voice, closer to what's happening in classic Zed Yago than Chastain vocally.  Actually, there might me some overlapping, musically, with old Chastain here, too.  There is a lot of tight riffing and interesting guitar work and soloing on here.  All of it hearkens back to the golden 80's age of heavy metal.  Nothing nu skool, nothing thrashy save for a few breaks here and there where a great riff picks things up.  Great melodies and rich songwriting, really.

The production is very good, especially for what I can only imagine is something self-produced.  That stated, it was purposely produced to sound like it came out of the era this music owes its soul to.  There is zero compression and the guitars are up in the mix like they should be, but the production of this just sounds like it should be coming at you through a big ol' stereo spinning only vinyl.  If you're under 40, you may not get what is happening, but it is good.  Very good.  Keep in mind, this is an indie effort and production, but it is no under-produced demo.

But these guys have no interest in your ear if you are not into bands like I've mentioned so far; this is not for you if you are into most of the better selling "metal" post 1990.  This thing is like a time traveling trip back to 1986 but with better production values than most records from back then and a distinctive female singer belting out lyrics about epic tales of pirates and great wars and all that good stuff.

Lastly, I simply cannot believe the couple of really negative reviews here on Amazon.  It can't be too hard to find several or all of these songs somewhere on the Interwebs, so please check them out before you discount these guys based on a negative review--or even my really positive one.  If you're a metalhead with a soft spot for classic, old school metal, you're gonna want this CD, and you'll love where it takes you while it's spinning.
2517812
Making a single-disc "Hits" collection for an artist like Prince is no easy task! Warner did a fine job with "The Very Best Of Prince" however, picking a nice mix of his biggest American and European hits and most popular tunes.
Kicking off with his first real American hit "I Wanna Be Your Lover", this CD is enhanced greatly by the fact that the songs here are presented in a chronological order, showcasing Prince's tremendous growth, and unfortunately also his downfall. Casual fans will be pleased to see that crowd-pleasers such as "1999," "When Doves Cry," "Purple Rain," and "Kiss" are all present. One could complain about the exclusion of the brilliant 1985 US top ten single "Pop Life" or the international 1989 chart topper "Batdance", but it's simply impossible to put all of his international hits on a single disc. The album does draw a bit heavily off "Diamonds & Pearls" with the inclusion of four singles off that album, and while the title track and the fine "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" are pleasant tracks, they don't match up to his earlier work. This is where Prince stopped "leading" and started "following".
What we have here, though, is a fine sampler that might not neccesarily represent Prince's best work, but certainly his most popular from an international point of view.
3391340
let's start by saying that i have owned over 2,000 different rock and metal cds and lps over the last 30+ years, and that i have been playing the drums for over 25 years, so i like to think i know a little about music. i don't like giving "best of" titles when it comes to my(our)music, because that is purely subjective, and one's own opinion. however, in this case, it seems i have some company in my felling that this may be one of the best metal releases of all time. i hate saying that, but it may be the god's honest truth. it really is hard to beat it. it is far and away the best of Trouble's career, and may be the best of the 90's, as it was released in '90. Down's Nola album from '95 is a close second. out of the thousands of titles i have owned, it ranks in the top 5. how's that for status? anyway, enough of the babble, just pay the money to get it, or borrow it, or whatever, just get it. i , fortunately, bought it new, and don't have to pay what it's goin' for, but i'll tell ya', it's worth it. really. it's that good. check it out. some things in life were just meant to be. this is one of those. peace.
3304616
Sometimes the existing reviews tell the story of a book better than I can. This situation is true regarding F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories compiled in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz & Other Stories. First of all, there are only two reviews thereby indicating that Fitzgerald's short stories are not very popular; and secondly, one is highly favorable (5 stars) and the other is highly negative (1 star), which indicates that these are a mixed bag.

Fitzgerald, by his own admission, was not a good short story writer, using them mostly as a source of income.  To truly appreciate this art form you should read O Henry, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov and even Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron.  In general Fitzgerald is concerned with three things in his work:  the 1920 period in America, the often-problematic relations between men and women and the Darwinian, survival of the fittest, nature of capitalism. All of these elements play out in these stories.

The title story is a fable in which a boy, John T. Unger, from a small town in the South attends a wealthy boarding school in the East. There he meets a fellow student, Percy Washington, who tells him his father is the richest person in the world and has "a diamond as big as the Ritz- Carleton Hotel."  The two boys then go to Percy's home for the summer, which turns out to be a mountaintop in remote Montana. In fact the Washington family is fabulously rich because the mountain itself is one solid diamond. A family member made this discovery at the time of the Civil War and he proceeded to sell some of the diamonds and then jealously guard the secret by living in isolation from the rest of the world. This story shows how great wealth corrupts people.

The Cut-Glass Bowl is a gift given to a recently married woman, Evylyn Piper, by a former lover with the note that "I'm going to give you a present that's as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through." As the story progresses, the bowl is involved in various tragic incidents in Evylyn's life.  May Day involves some down on their luck people, including soldiers returning from World War I who attach a socialist newspaper and a former Yale man whose life spiraled downward.  The Lees of Happiness involves a couple that marries and is having a happy life when the husband suffers a stroke. Other stories involve people who abuse alcohol and the negative effect it has on their life. In fact every story has a sad overtone and ends tragically or with little hope for the future of the characters.

I end up giving this work 2 stars. Fitzgerald's best work by far is The Great Gatsby. Only those who like his writing style and themes will find his other work, both short stories and novels, to be interesting.
4681076
Twenty million in uncut fire diamonds is simply too great a treasure to resist. When Septimus Zyke overhears the whispered rumor while in prison, he knows that he is just the man to track this treasure down and give it a good home. Fresh from prison and down on his luck, the ex-solider and a buddy chase that rumor to a little-known rock at the edge of space. But once there, they find that they are the only ones who have come seeking their fortune. They also discover that not all of the natives of that planet are friendly.

What started as a treasure hunt becomes a violent struggle for survival for Sep and his buddy Fin as they cross the planet's hostile landscape. Their lives and even their minds are threatened, because the closer they come to their destination, the more tenuous their hold becomes upon reality. Ultimately, all that exists is the treasure, but is it worth risking their sanity - indeed, their humanity - over?

********

My first reaction after having read Benjamin Reynold's novella "For Blood or Money" was a deep breath and a stunned "wow." Here is a story about the bond of friendship and the destructive nature of greed that will involve you, possibly move you, and will leave you with a lingering taste of irony in your mouth. I found it to be original, well-executed, and very entertaining indeed.

Mr. Reynolds does an excellent job pulling the reader into this story. He breathes life into his characters so that they are real creatures of flesh and emotion rather than simple wooden or stick figures. We feel the anxiety that Sep and Fin share as well as their fear as they believe they will die while in transit, and we share in the desperate hope that they have put into finding the diamonds.

The scenes in "For Blood or Money" are three-dimensional, vivid and realistic, giving the reader the sense that they are right there, suffering the cold and boredom and hunger in deep space, drinking in excess with the natives, or fighting for their lives against vicious tribesmen.

One of the most appealing aspects of this story in my opinion is the undercurrent of feeling that flows throughout the narrative. The two main characters share a deep camaraderie for all that they appear to have different outlooks on life. Both are hardened ex-soldiers, and while Sept is more jaded and cynical than Fin, neither would consider themselves to be the emotional type. Yet they both struggle with their reactions to the natives as well as with the trail of destruction that they can see follows in their wake. As I read this story, I found myself quite caught up in their desperate situation, and it was with horror that I watched them pass what appeared to be the do-not-return line in their fools' mission.

Overall, I found "For Blood or Money" to be a very unique and absorbing story. It captured both my interest and my emotions, and I have no doubt that it will haunt my memory for a good while. Nice job, Mr. Reynolds; I hope that you continue to give us stories like this.
2390563
Having been a member of the r&b outfit Vertical Hold and penning for D'Angelo, Angie Stone spreads her wings and releases "Black Diamond," her solo debut.  Like the jewel after which it's named, "Black Diamond" is tough yet shines as an album of modern r&b that pays respects to the old school.  Stone's voice doesn't project like Chaka's, but she makes the best use of what she has.  And while it's no masterpiece, the album is solid enough to impress with tight jams like the bouncy "Everyday," the gritty "Life Story," and the soulful "No More Rain (In This Cloud)."  Stone resists trendy overproduction, and yet "Mahogany Soul" remains a funky ride.  Like a good, home-cooked meal, Angie Stone's debut is filling enough to stick to your ribs.
1212264
Ben Bishop's debut novel is not for those bereft of patience. That is not to say it lacks in energy or imagination - which it most certainly does not. But it is not one that can be picked up and put down lightly. It demands much from the reader. Ben's rich and at times labor-intensive prose bring Aghaux and it's inhabitants to life in a way that makes it difficult to leave the world behind when the final page comes. For a debut novel this is an impressive achievement and I look forward to enjoying more of his work in the future.
1240232
A good portion of Jewel Kilcher's aurora is not in the typical things that make a female singer popular: her voice, her looks, her guitar skill, her musical talent, songwriting writing ability, connections with her concert audience, stage presence or fashion flair.
Though she doesn't lack those things, one of her greatest attractions, the one that makes you stop and realize that she's more than another rockstar wanna-be who made it, is the story of her life, her pre-fame life, especially. Even if she never got a record contract and the fame that came with it and made her one of the "elite" few, she still would have been an extrordinary person. She explains that all this book, "Chasing Down the Dawn."
It seems that everything possible that could have happened to one person happened to Jewel. Her young life and childhood is one unusual experience after another, filled with unusual people, and almost unbelievable at times. For example, her grandmother was an award winning writer, her father was abused as a child, her parents got divorced, as a nine-year old she was photographed by a child ponographer/molester, her first crush rode off a cliff on a motorcycle, she made friends with gang members and kids who ate vodka popsicles, her best friend died of cancer, she suffered from kidney problems, she sang for eskimos and gave them their first chance to see blond hair...and that's just half of the list. If we included all the crazy things that she chose to do herself, the story is even more interesting.
I heard someone say about Jewel, "After living a life like that, she almost couldn't help but write about it." It's true.
I'm not really a fan of Jewel's music, I probably never will be. I didn't care about her at all until I started reading her books. One thing that strikes me from both of them is that this girl is actually talented. She's not just a marketable face for her record label, she's actually an artist, a poet, a writer. Literature of such quality is not something I would expect from one of the biggest female stars in the music world. But Jewel is an exception: she's multi-faceted and definitely multi-talented.
Her story gives very good insight on the life of a star. Though it certainly has it's upsides, it's not all stage lights and screaming fans. For all you Jewel-wanna bes who still haven't made it, read this book before you pursue a career as a professional musical entertainer.
Can I say that if buy this book you won't regret it? I can't judge for you. If you don't like this kind of stuff, you most probably will be let down, but personally, I wasn't.
3675774
Conventional detective fiction features a brilliant investigator (who may or may not actually be a detective), a horrid crime that he or she is called on to solve (occasionally, by accident), and one or more really nasty people who will (whether or not they appear nasty at the outset) prove to be responsible for the crime. Along the way, the investigator is repeatedly thwarted, sometimes by circumstance, sometimes by design, and is frequently subjected to violent attack. And the story unfolds loosely observing the classical unities of action, place, and time (though often with flashbacks that violate dramatic unity). Diamond Solitaire, the second in Peter Loveseys series of novels featuring detective Peter Diamond, bears little resemblance to this model.

A different sort of detective novel, with a sumo wrestler on the cover

Confusion reigns as Diamond Solitaire gets underway. Having resigned in anger seven months ago as a Detective Chief Inspector from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary in southwest England, Peter Diamond, now forty-eight, is eking out a living as a nighttime security guard at Harrods department store in London. When an alarm goes off on an upper floor indicating an intruder is in the building, Diamond discovers what appears to be a seven- or eight-year-old Japanese girl hiding among the furniture display. She remains mute in the face of his questions, and repeated efforts to identify the girl or locate her parents are fruitless. Intrigued, and looking for something to keep himself from going mad, Diamond volunteers to work at a school for disabled children where the girl has been sent, diagnosed as autistic. In the main strand of the plot, Diamond goes to great lengths to identify the girl, eventually with the assistance of a famous sumo wrestler. Diamond himself is fat, and he proves to be less than consistently brilliant as the story unfolds  first in London, then in New York, and finally in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, in Italy, a pharmaceutical plant has burned to the ground. In New York, the aging founder and chairman of the company that owns the plant is preparing to step down in favor of his feckless son, who is far more interested in filmmaking than in pharmaceuticals.

Somehow, if Diamond Solitaire is to work, all these diverse characters and seemingly unconnected events and locations must converge. But convergence is a long time coming, and the story is suspenseful and fascinating all along the way. The novel is full of surprises, but none of them appear to arise through the sort of crude manipulation so common in the genre.

About the author

Peter Lovesey is a fascinating character in his own right. In addition to his career as a detective novelist who has produced numerous other works of fiction in addition to the sixteen Peter Diamond books, he is an expert on the history of track and field and, according to the biography appended to Diamond Solitaire, a mainstay of the International Society of Olympic Historians.
4175236
Nichole Yershon is a rough diamond. She lived this book and verified the principles from experience.
Nichole spent years as an intrapreneur and through adversity developed into an entrepreneur and the leader of her own company, "Innovate on Purpose."
Starting out in East London and coming from a large family, and applying for her first job in advertising as an ambitious 19-year-old, Rough Diamond brings us up to Nicholes present as a successful business owner.
From the introduction: "This book charts a journey - it explains the value of doing versus putting stuff off. This book is designed to help others see that its entirely possible to get stuff done, right now".
I found Rough Diamond to be informative and entertaining at the same time. I think you will find the time it takes to read this book from cover to cover an investment well spent.
880286
What a genuine surprise to hear a Neil Diamond album that doesn't make me instantly wish I was listening to one of his golden hits of the early 1970's. An expert performer who still draws devoted throngs of baby boomers, Diamond has let his relevance as a singer-songwriter diminish over the past thirty years in favor of easy listening radio and lucrative concert tours. In fact, it's easy to forget that he hasn't done anything that has challenged him artistically since 1976's "Beautiful Noise". Enter Rick Rubin, a renegade producer who has done landmark albums for the likes of the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and most relevantly, the late Johnny Cash on his acoustic 1994 return to form, "American Recordings". The equally unlikely collaboration between Diamond and Rubin has yielded, hands down, one of the best Neil Diamond recordings ever.

Rubin obviously forced Diamond's hand in abandoning the performer's predilection for overproduction and variety showmanship in favor of a leaner sound that allows him to move toward a more introspective and resonant direction. Such emotional consistency over the course of a full album never reflected Diamond's personality. For instance, in the past, he could not sing a romantic ballad like "Hello Again" without including crowd-pleasing bombast such as "America". However, even with the tonal constraints put on him, Diamond still shows an unfettered knack for composing songs with compelling melodies and sharp hooks. The opening track, "Oh Mary", is a sweet ballad where Diamond repeats the title as a forlorn mantra. The familiar-sounding "Hell Yeah", "Captain of a Shipwreck" and especially "Evermore" (which instantly recalls "I Am I Said") showcase his theatrical sense within an atmosphere of intimacy. He expresses a palpable yearning on the pop ballad, "Save Me a Saturday Night", that aches with a slow dance tempo.

With its powerfully rhythmic guitar chords, my favorite song is the percolating "Delirious Love", which soars with Diamond's testosterone-driven romantic energy. "I'm on to You" brings a nice jazzy vibe to its finger-snapping tale of romantic deceit. The loping, country-twanged beat on ''What's It Gonna Be" reflects a world-weariness in the singer that makes the chorus turn into a resigned ultimatum to a straying lover. Moving toward higher ground, Diamond takes on spiritual renewal with the gospel-tinged "Man of God", and as an appropriate follow-up, Billy Preston's Hammond organ opens the touching "Create Me" as if it's the beginning of a church procession. A Mexican standoff between two lovers marks the romantic melodrama of "Face Me", which sounds eerily like the tumbleweed theme of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. The Dixieland melody of "We" is the closest Diamond comes to kitsch here, but he keeps it in check with the catchy lyrics.

The Digi-Pak version is worth the premium on the price tag for the two bonus tracks. The first is the achingly beautiful "Men Are So Easy", which contains perceptive observations about growing up. The second is perhaps the most infectious track on the whole recording - a redo of "Delirious Love" as a duet with Brian Wilson that converts the song into Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys with their trademark swooping harmonies. The core ensemble - Diamond, Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers and Smokey Hormel on guitars and another Heartbreaker, Benmont Tech, on keyboards - perform expertly throughout. This is a pop masterwork by a talent too long in the artistic trenches.
2131928
Although a large portion of my reading material consists of thrillers, I do read a few mysteries each year.  Black Diamond Death was one such book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  The writing and editing are excellent, the characters are interesting, and the plot kept me hooked. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what stood out, because everything was done well.

That said, I'll point to two things.  The first is the pace.  An often overlooked factor in mysteries, but very well done here.  The revelations came at what felt like the exactly right time, and the balance between action and detecting worked perfectly.

The second item that I particularly noted was the character development and interaction. The main character was a masterpiece.  Unlike with so many books these days, she was neither overdone, nor stereotyped.  We saw enough inner dialogue to really understand her, but not enough to weigh down the book.

All this adds up to a strong four star recommendation for Black Dimamond Death
3034350
Jesse McCartney is definitely one of the prominent so penned "heartthrobs" of today.  He is a talented actor as well as a talented, credible enough singer.  Jesse doesn't so much have the problem of say Lindsay Lohan or Ashlee Simpson in releasing an album; he was a member of the lackadaisical, underrated Dream Street prior to becoming a serious actor.  Also moreso than Lindsay or Ashlee, the boy can sing, even if this album in particular does have its flat moments.  Having not heard BEAUTIFUL SOUL, I don't have the ground to compare this album, but based off the single "Beautiful Soul" compared to the songs here, this album doesn't necessarily have song nearly that strong.  It isn't a bad album though in the least, and it has many shining moments.

"Right Where You Want Me", the title track features soulful production with a very minor-dark feel during the verses.  The chorus though takes on "cliche proportions" as the guitars are overproduced and tend to cover up McCartney's vocals.  His falsetto here is particularly notable, and almost makes up for the more indicipherable vocals by McCartney at the chorus.

"Just So You Knew" is a rather unexciting, uninspiring track.  There is nothing new here to draw you in; at times infact, McCartney sounds a bit thin.  Despite that, McCartney does sit on top of the production vocally well here, but quality supercedes production with this track making it filler material in my eyes.

"Blow Your Mind" is the track that you've been waiting for McCartney to record (yeah I know he's only released 2 albums).  What is particularly exciting is the soulful-rock quality of this track that just might give McCartney a bit of rock-credibility. This track is the strongest rival where quality is concerned to "Beautiful Soul".  Also, an "electrifying" guitar solo makes this track all that much better than it already is.

"Right Back in The Water" is another solid track exploiting the best facets of McCartney's vocals.  Unfortunately by this song, you do start to wonder how nice it might be if McCartney stepped outside of his comfort zone to try to sing a different type of song. "Anybody" showcases an over-exerted performance by McCartney meaning that his voice here sounds like McCartney is working to hard.  Despite the faux-pas, "Tell Here" almost completely makes up for the uninspiring, predictable "Anybody".

The only other major standout of RIGHT WHERE YOU WANT ME is the penultimate track "Invincible" which is among the top echolon where quality of the tracks are concerned.  Here McCartney sounds great, the lyrics are exceptional, the string orchestration is lush, and it makes for perhaps the best track or one of the best tracks on the entire album.  Otherwise, the ball is dropped on such tracks as "We Can Go Anywhere", "Feeling You", or "Just Go" while other tracks are above average, though nothing to write home about ("Daddy's Little Girl" and "Can't Let You Go").

It is hard for some of the strongest material here to assign a rating of just 3 stars, however as whole, the album has its phenomenal moments and its dull moments making it average.  However, I believe Jesse McCartney has more than his looks going for him, meaning vocally, he isn't a bad singer;  he is one with great potential.  3 stars.
3326320
I was kind of hesitant to purchase this CD. I bought his last CD "DLR Band", which was good,but could have been alot better. Then the whole Van Halen thing. Such a waste. BUT!.This new David Lee Roth album entitled "Diamond Dave" is the best CD I own at this moment. I am floored. Dave is doin' what he likes to do. And it rocks.  His interpretations (not covers) are a breath of fresh air. In my opinion(always humble of course), I think it could be worth a Grammy nomination. But...what do I know. I do know it's great to have Diamond David Lee Roth back to show us how rock 'n roll is done.