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Betrayal
Hostage
The Holmes Inheritance
Never Surrender
Hell House
Mission of Honor (Tom Clancy's Op-Center S.)
Dead End
No Resistance
Fast Friends
Troubled Waters
A Dying Fall
Unknown Fears
Hunter's Rain
Amnesia
Another Eden [LARGE PRINT]
Ransom Island
Tucker's Inn [LARGE PRINT]
The Passing of the Day
Ogilvie's Dangerous Mission
A Distant Calling
The King of Vinland's Saga
The King of Vinland's Saga
Memories
Memories
The Sceptre

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot

Average customer rating:

Judas the Ensnared
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
Lacks Impact
Disappointed
A new perspective

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
Jeffrey Archer , and Francis J. Moloney
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities
Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women
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The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed

ASIN: 0312375204
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

The very name of Judas raises among Christians an instinctive reaction of criticism and condemnationThe betrayal of Judas remainsa mystery. Pope Benedict XVI, October 2006 The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot sheds new light on the the mystery of Judasincluding his motives for the betrayal and what happened to him after the crucifixionby retelling the story of Jesus through the eyes of Judas, using the canonical texts as its basic point of reference. Ostensibly written by Judass son, Benjamin, and following the narrative style of the Gospels, this re-creation is provocative, compelling, and controversial. The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot is the result of an intense collaboration between a storyteller and a scholar: Jeffrey Archer and Francis J. Moloney. Their brilliant workbold and simpleis a compelling story for twenty-first-century readers, while maintaining an authenticity that would be credible to a first-century Christian or Jew.

Customer Reviews:

Judas the Ensnared.......2007-06-28

I've been reading Archer since Kane and Abel and when I saw that he was writing a fictionalized account of the life of Judas as told by his son, I thought, wow, this could really be a great read and a little controversial. Neither came true. Basically, it's formatted like the gospels (nothing wrong with that), but just not an exciting read this time around. I was actually kind of bored reading it and the only reason I kept going was because it came in at around ninety pages so I persevered with it. The last chapter or two is when the basis of the story comes out and nothing earth shattering here. Judas was the victim of the religious zealots at the time to get rid of Christ. Maybe, maybe not. Does it change my point of view or my beliefs, probably not. Just something more to ponder about; the Bible, its writers (Did they embellish the truth from generation to generation before writing it down, whether on purpose or by accident. Kind of difficult to keep the same exact story going for tens or even hundreds of years orally without some of it being changed on the next telling), and the facts that surround it that science today continues to try to prove happened. I expected Archer to put this into more story form like all his other works and I think then he could have gone into more depth with this alternate theory and really provoked the reader's imagination. But he chose not to, giving us instead this lackluster rendition of what could have been a great story about Judas Iscariot.

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot.......2007-06-21

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
Where Do I begin. Lets start with the title, The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot by Jeffrey Archer, come on!! It should be the fictional story of The Gospel According to Judas by Jeffrey Archer as Benjamin Iscariot.
A Relevant Story:
A friend of mine recently told me of a Pastor who liked to make hot fudge, apparently he used all organic ingredients. One day the Pastor's daughter wanted to see PG parental guidance rated movie, that only had 5%, swearing/drug use or sex scenes. After much insistence the daughter when to see the movie, the next day the Pastor decided to make some hot chocolate fudge the aroma filled the house the Pastor stated that he'd used 5% of a special organic source and kept the matter a secret until all the fudge had been consumed. Then he asked did you notice any difference in the quality/flavour? No.. they replied, well the 5% special ingredient was organic it wont do any REAL harm, it was only dog p##h. lol
If you take a solid truth as the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and you contaminant 5% to 10% of it with a special 'organic substance' what do you have in the end - dog p##h. I felt the tone and reason for the book was a Jewish backlash hardliner trying to have some justification why Jesus wasn't who he said he was the Son of God. The book was written from the sour grapes attitude, "[Jesus wasn't] ...the long-awaited Messiah."p1, on the betrayal of Christ, Archer says, "...Judas knew that he was innocent of such an accusation, as his only purpose was to save Jesus from an unnecessary death." After Jesus' Death, the sorrowful Judas goes a lives amongst the Essenes then a Masada as a "marked man". And the book concludes with "Judas died as Jesus did. He was crucified by the Romans." It's all a bit desperate!
The whole story Gospel of Judas is unbalanced what about Isaiah 53 The Sin-bearing, Suffering Servant? The Gospel of Judas omits the 30 pieces of silver, and suicide of Judas. The Gospel of Judas is nothing more that fragments of quotation out of context in Holy Bible blended together (very poorly) it just doesn't stick!
Let us set aside a few things, just say by chance that this gospel of Judas was right, and the whole of the New Testament wrong. Ok we've been deceived by the BIGGEST hoaxes since man made fire. We could be waiting for the Messiah to still come as the Gospel of Judas indicated, unhappily Israel still waits, they missed the boat. Not one Holy Prophet has been around for over two thousand years.
Israel is one of the most violent, sad and godless places on earth. There is no peace, the temple has gone, the glory has gone, as a nation they forsook the Lord time and time again and were taken off to captivity. Jesus said in Matt 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city the kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See your house is left to you, desolate..."
Now let's just say that the Gospel of Judas is false piece of fiction. Look at the people in New Testament who believe and were change by it and gave their lives for it (Peter & Paul), they did not write empty words by words of someone who knew and walked and talked with Jesus. The story of people in Bible give us hope, in a world where we are saturated with Hollywood, sexism, drugs and alcohol, domestic violence (rape/guns) the list keeps on going on. I want freedom from all that this world offers because it like hot sweet chocolate fudge one isn't enough and one piece is too much.
In closing a quote from James 3:13, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
What was Archer really trying to achieve by the release of this book?

Lacks Impact.......2007-05-28

In spite of the clever packaging---this small 100+ page novel appears to be an ancient leather-bound journal complete with built in ribbon bookmark--- Jeffrey Archer's "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" fails to deliver the punch needed to smack it into the significance realm of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I expected some grand revelation---perhaps Judas and Jesus had concocted the whole betrayal bit; Judas gladly takes the hit and for two millennia is thought to be the ultimate 30 pieces of silver traitor. As I read this little gospel formatted tome, I am thinking, Judas's legendary despicable actions were all part of his Master's ultimate plan, right?

Wrong.

Supposedly, in "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" Archer and Moloney collaborate to formulate a tale believable to both Biblical scholars and modern laymen readers. The format definitely bespeaks of their desire to create something that resembles a gospel rendering complete with chapter and verse and the Jesus quotations (most of which are familiar from evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) highlighted in a red italicized font. Nevertheless, the story itself disappoints as it is far too similar to the actual gospels from which it is based to excite any degree of controversy. The supposed mystery of the real Judas simply neglects to properly mystify.

Bottom line? Years ago, I had read Frank Yerby's novel, "Judas, My Brother." Believe me as scandalous as the plotline of this older book seemed to me then, it could far more captivate its audience now than this Archer-Moloney collaboration. Sadly, "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" attempts to retell the story of Christ's ministry utilizing a fifth evangelist format that simply doesn't work. Why read this when the original four authors of the New Testament gospels have already told the tale and have told it the best way possible? Not recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

Disappointed.......2007-05-20

Since reading The Last Temptation of Christ, I have expected the gospel of Judas to be written. Archer and Malononey too often take the safe easy path and never challenge the reader as Kazantakis (sic) did. I had high hopes but ultimately was disappointed.

A new perspective.......2007-05-17

This was a beautiful and moving book. After all everybody thinks Judas was a monster and my opinion has changed after reading this book.

Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal

Average customer rating:

A Compelling Read for True Crime Fans
The quintessential true-crime story
Golden Rule
One of her very best
best yet

Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal
Ann Rule
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Such Good Boys: The True Story of a Mother, Two Sons and a Horrifying Murder

ASIN: 0743238524
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Book Description

Jenn Corbin, a lovely, slim, brown-eyed blonde, appeared to have it all: two dear little boys, a posh home in one of the upscale suburbs of Atlanta, expensive cars, a plush houseboat, and a husband -- Dr. Bart Corbin, a successful dentist -- who was tall, handsome, and brilliant.

But gradually their seemingly idyllic life together began to crumble. There was talk of seeing a marriage counselor. Bart was distraught; Jenn seemed disenchanted. She needed to reach out to someone she could confide in -- beyond her mother and her sisters. Then, just a few weeks before Christmas 2004, Jenn was found dead with a bullet in her head, a revolver beside her. From the position of the body her death appeared to be a suicide. But Gwinnett County detective Marcus Head was not totally convinced, nor was Jenn's family, who could not believe she would take her own life.

And how was this death related to another apparent suicide fourteen years earlier -- that of Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn, a spectacularly beautiful dental student? A star athlete and homecoming queen in high school, Dolly later dated Bart Corbin in dental school. Was there a connection, or was the answer to be found in a secret -- even dangerous -- relationship Jenn Corbin was having outside her marriage? For Too Late to Say Goodbye, Ann Rule has interviewed virtually everyone in any way related to the story -- the victims' families, police investigators, prosecutors, and sources from Georgia to Australia -- to uncover the truth behind the headlines of these two sensational deaths. What emerges is an incredible tale of jealous rage; of stunning circumstantial and physical evidence that runs from the steamy to the macabre to almost-unheard-of forensic techniques; and of a tragic irony -- a fateful discovery that motivated the killing. The definitive unraveling of one of the strangest murder investigations of our time, Too Late to Say Goodbye is perhaps the finest achievement of a truly great writer's career.

Customer Reviews:

A Compelling Read for True Crime Fans.......2007-06-27

Ann Rule is my favorite true crime author and she has not disappointed me with her latest. I have always appreciated how she thoroughly researches her books and delves into the backgrounds of not only the victim, but the victim's family, friends and the perpetrator. One thing that I find fascinating about the true crime genre is the "criminal mind." We follow the saga of a man who, from all appearances, had everything going for him but due to his controlling nature pushed people away. When he was rebuffed, he made sure that no one else would have what he felt belonged to him, no matter what the cost.

The quintessential true-crime story.......2007-06-27

As one of America's most respected authors of true-crime sagas, Ann Rule has the luxury of picking the cases she will transform into bestselling epics. Her reputation has placed her in the enviable position of having people contact her to suggest real-life murders that warrant the Ann Rule treatment. Such was the case with Jenn Corbin, who appeared to take her own life in her suburban Atlanta home late in 2004. To make her death even more tragic, her lifeless body was discovered by her seven-year old son Dalton, who ran to a neighbor's house announcing, "My daddy shot my mommy --- I need you to call 911." The police investigation pointed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound as the cause of death.

To their community of Buford, Georgia, Jenn Corbin and her dentist husband, Bart, seemed to be the idyllic couple --- the parents of two boys, Bart was building his dental practice and Jenn was a preschool teacher --- but appearances can often be deceiving. Bart Corbin was a man who was far different in private than in public. In addition to his controlling personality, he was also a womanizer. This combination was too much for Jenn to bear, and shortly before her death, they separated. Divorce was imminent.

Experienced law enforcement officers acknowledge that homicides must be solved quickly, within hours or days. They also will admit that spouses are generally prime suspects when their partner is murdered. The Corbin death had all the markings of a suicide, and the case appeared to be headed to the cold case files of the Gwinnett County Police Department. But hard work and luck are often far superior law enforcement tools than DNA or fingerprints.

Authorities learned about another woman, Dolly Hearn, who had been involved with Bart Corbin years before and had met her death in circumstances remarkably similar to Jenn. One suicide can perhaps be explained, but the odds of two women, romantically linked to the same man, taking their own lives were as remote as one person being struck by lightning on two separate occasions. However, knowing that crimes have occurred and proving them beyond a reasonable doubt are far different animals. TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE is the mesmerizing tale of how law enforcement coordinated information from two deaths separated by nearly a decade to convict Bart Corbin of murder.

Americans love their crime. From "Law & Order" to countless courtroom shows and our near-obsession with the real-life crimes of O. J. Simpson, Scott Peterson and others, we are fascinated with the workings of the legal system. Ann Rule is one of the elite true-crime writers, producing books that cause people to wonder if they are reading fact or fiction. >From Ted Bundy to the Green River Killer who stalked and murdered for decades to Dr. Bart Corbin, Rule paints a picture of crime that readers will be unable to put down. Page after page yields the story of an incredible absorbing crime that almost went unsolved.

TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE is the quintessential true-crime story. Prepare yourself for a few late nights of reading.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

Golden Rule.......2007-06-27

If you like true story murder mysteries,Ann Rule never lets you down. Even though you know what is going to happen, she keeps you turning the pages with zest. She knows her business, having been a cop herself, and she knows her writing. Read all of her work, if you like this genre.

One of her very best.......2007-06-26

I could hardly put this book down. I liked the way Ann wove the details of the victims' lives into the stories of their murders. I felt I really got to know them.

Bart, the murderer, reminded me of Ted Bundy---handsome, charming and self-centered. His coldness and feelings of superiority are frightening.

I also enjoyed reading the investigators' techniques especially being able to trace locations of the cell phone calls. It is amazing the tools available to police now.

This book includes a first for Ann. A squash soup recipe that was a speciality of one of the victims. An interesting touch!

best yet.......2007-06-24

I have read all of Ann Rule's books and this is by and far the best yet. Ann really knows how to get a story ranging from the crime itself to the victim's life to the accused life. No one has and will do a better job. Keep up the good work. I'm awaiting your next one.

Betrayal (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 1)

Average customer rating:

It was good but alot of the same ol same ol
One of the best
Excellent
Another Star Wars Series
Evolution Of Star Wars

Betrayal (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 1)
Aaron Allston
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Outbound Flight (Star Wars)

ASIN: 0345477340
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Book Description

This is the era of Luke Skywalker’s legacy: the Jedi Master has unified the order into a cohesive group of powerful Jedi Knights. But as the new era begins, planetary interests threaten to disrupt this time of relative peace, and Luke is plagued with visions of an approaching darkness. Evil is rising again–out of the best intentions–and it looks as if the legacy of the Skywalkers may come full circle. Honor and duty will collide with friendship and blood ties as the Skywalker and Solo clans find themselves on opposing sides of an explosive conflict with potentially devastating repercussions for both families, for the Jedi order, and for the entire galaxy.

When a mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on the planet Adumar ends in a violent ambush–from which Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protégé and cousin, Ben Skywalker, narrowly escape with their lives–it’s the most alarming evidence yet that sparks of political unrest are threatening to ignite into total rebellion. The governments of numerous worlds are chafing under the strict regulations of the Galactic Alliance, and diplomatic efforts to enforce compliance are failing. Fearing the worst, the Alliance readies a preemptive display of military might in a bid to bring the rogue worlds in line before an uprising erupts. The designated target of this exercise: planet Corellia–renowned for the brash independence and renegade spirit that have made its favorite son, Han Solo, a legend.

Something of a rogue himself, Jacen is nevertheless duty bound as a Jedi to stand with his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, on the side of the Galactic Alliance. But when the wary Corellians launch a counterstrike, the Alliance’s show of force–and a secret mission to disable Corellia’s crucial Centerpoint Station–give way to an armed skirmish. Once the smoke clears, the battle lines are drawn. Now the specter of full-scale war looms between a growing cadre of defiant planets and the Galactic Alliance that some fear is becoming a new Empire. And even as both sides struggle to find a diplomatic solution, mysterious acts of treachery and sabotage threaten peace efforts at every turn.

Determined to root out those behind the mayhem, Jacen follows a trail of cryptic clues to a dark rendezvous with the most shocking of revelations . . . while Luke grapples with something even more troubling: dream visions of a shadowy figure whose Force power and ruthlessness remind him of Darth Vader–a lethal enemy who strikes like a dark spirit on a mission of doom. An agent of evil who, if Luke’s visions come to pass, will bring untold pain to the Jedi Master . . . and to the entire galaxy.

Customer Reviews:

It was good but alot of the same ol same ol.......2007-06-20

The book was good I liked what they did with Ben mainly because he reminded me of my best friend in highschool. The plot was ok but weve seen this type of plot about a million times in the Star Wars universe. Another thing I hate is the fact that the writers give out high military rank like it was jolly ranchers or something. Itd be like me showing up for basic training and the DI saying "Dude we heard about how you thrashed that guy in 5th grade so your going to be a general." YEAH RIGHT leading an Army, especialy a secret police force aint like dusting crops boy! Theres rules, regulations, SOPs, logistics, and all types of need to know stuff that even a jedi wouldnt be familiar with stuff that could kill. So stop treating the military like any jerk off the street could do it.

One of the best.......2007-06-14

I just finished this novel today. IMO, it is one of the best of the SW EU novels. I place it in the top five (along with Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy and Stackpole's "I, Jedi").

"Betrayal" is one of the few recent EU novels that has that mix of drama and comedy that made Lucas' original trilogy so good.

Jacen's fall to the Dark Side is very much in character; it's obvious if you've read the NJO series that Jacen would eventually follow that course.

A great read.

Excellent.......2007-05-07

The book is great. It really opens this new book series well, though it's a bit of a tear jerker towards the end.

Another Star Wars Series.......2007-05-07

A great first book to introduce a series of novels in the Star Wars environment. Luke & Mara Leia & Han and the children battle a new threat to the G.A.

Evolution Of Star Wars.......2007-02-26

I am not a fan of Star Wars books. I tried getting into the other books which basically all came down to......terrible danger, close calls, all is well in the end. I was a mild fan of the New Jedi Order Series. I liked that they were trying something new and that they had enough courage to change the universe.

This book seems to take the universe in a bold new direction. No longer is it black & white, good vs evil. This book builds up momentum and leads to an ending that will leave you staring at the pages for a few moments. Possible re-reading entire pages to make sure you read it right. An well-written book that is a great jumping point into a new series.

If you read the New Jedi Order books (Even if you did not like them) you owe it to yourself to give this book a read.

Average customer rating:

A great installment
Betrayal in Death (In Death)
Warning - Spoiler!
J D Robb rides again
Only a very confident assassin does not mind showing his face.

Betrayal in Death (In Death)
J.D. Robb , and Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425178579
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Amazon.com

J.D. Robb fans are fanatical about New York City supercop Eve Dallas and her mysterious billionaire husband Roarke. Robb's futuristic (circa 2059) ...In Death series wages a two-front narrative war (the battle of good and evil and the battle of the sexes) and both author and readers come out winners.

When Darlene French, a maid at the Roarke Palace Hotel, is brutally beaten, raped, and strangled with a silver wire, Eve is at a loss to explain the apparently professional nature of the murder. Who would hire a hit man to kill such an ordinary woman? As she and her team of detectives (with a little grudgingly accepted help from Roarke, whose money, name, and talents can dig up a wealth of information) investigate the evidence, they find themselves in pursuit of Sylvester Yost, a vicious hired gun who's made millions in his bloody pursuit of career excellence. But it isn't until more victims appear that Eve realizes Yost's real target is Roarke himself. To discover the driving force behind the murderous campaign, Eve and Roarke will have to delve into their own pasts, which holds secrets and terrors for them both.

Robb is the nom de plume of romance writer Nora Roberts, and this series certainly delivers the same sexually charged tension and improbably gorgeous characters as Roberts's extremely popular romances. But even those readers, who generally try to steer clear of heaving bosoms and ripped bodices, will have little to fear and much to appreciate in Betrayal in Death. Eve and Roarke are impressive physical specimens, but they're also witty, gritty, and often antagonistic, irritably staking out their territories and reluctantly collaborating in the crimes that come their way (think Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting, or Nick and Nora Charles on steroids and in a mood). Add in Robb's surprisingly light touch with humor, and the 13th installment in the series is a lucky find indeed. --Kelly Flynn

Book Description

New York Lieutenant Eve Dallas is up against a hit-man for the elite, whose next target may be her own husband, Roarke.

Download Description

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb, comes a new novel in the futuristic seriesâ€¦Detective Eve Dallas investigates a homicide on familiar grounds: her husbandâ€™s hotelâ€"and finds herself up against a murderer with a passion for the finer things in lifeâ€"and deathâ€¦ At the luxurious Roarke Palace Hotel, a maid walks into suite 4602 for the nightly turndownâ€" and steps into her worst nightmare. A killer leaves her dead, strangled by a thin silver wire. Heâ€™s Sly Yost, a virtuoso of music and murder. A hit man for the elite. Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows him well. But in this twisted case, knowing the killer doesnâ€™t help solve the crime. Because thereâ€™s someone else involved. Someone with a more personal motive. And Eve must face a terrifying possibilityâ€"that the real target may, in fact, be her husband Roarkeâ€¦ "

Customer Reviews:

A great installment.......2007-04-05

The 12th installment of the IN DEATH series delivers!
Eve Dallas tackles her greatest challenge to date when it is discovered that the murderer she's chasing has targeted none other than her husband, Roarke. She must balance heart and head, managing to keep both in check, if this murderous rampage is to be stopped before her husband falls victim.

The suspense is perfectly-written. It feels very natural. It feels very real and lifelike. Occasionally, writers grow stale and their stories lose something. In this installment, Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb) has not lost a step! I loved this book.

Betrayal in Death (In Death).......2007-03-26

A great book that follows along the lines of the other "In Death" series written.

Warning - Spoiler!.......2006-05-19

I really enjoy this series, but this one left a bad taste when it concluded. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes when Eve catches the killer and he/she gets what they deserve. This story was even more engrossing because they already knew who he was and it showed more investigation as she pieced together how to get him.

So, I felt cheated when the killer offed himself in the end to avoid jail. Considering how he killed his victims, it seemed wrong that he got off so easy. Some might say, that's realistic. But, come on, these books aren't realistic--Eve solves every case! Unfortunately, this isn't the first one of these novels to end this way, nor is it the last. The next one does too. But, I'm hopeful the trend will "die" quickly.

J D Robb rides again.......2006-02-24

I realize this is an old title of hers, but J D Robb is just a magnificant writer. I am happy to say I have read all of her books and each was as good as the last. Betrayal in Death is no exception. It keeps you riveted from cover to cover.If you haven't read it yet don't hesitate. It is a great read.

Only a very confident assassin does not mind showing his face........2005-10-02

"Betrayal in death" is the 13th book in the "In death" series, and a wonderful addition to it. This book is a perfect mix of whodunit, some romance and a futuristic cop series. But then, you probably know that, if you have read the other books in the series. If that is not the case, please do first things first, and start by the beginning, reading the series in order. Even though all the books in the "In death" series can be read independently, it is only when you read them in their correct order that you will fully enjoy the series, as you will appreciate the interrelation between the characters and how they grow.

In this case, Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to face crime again. She finds herself as the primary in the gruesome murder of a maid that happened in one of the hotels of her husband, Roarke, just as Eve was attending a charity party there with him. Thanks to the security cameras, Eve discovers that the murderer is nobody else than Sylvester Yost, a gun for hire for the elite, that has been in the FBI's most searched list for more than 20 years. However, one thing is to know who he is, and another one is to find him. Only a very confident assassin does not mind showing his face.

As if that were not enough, soon afterwards another murder is committed by Yost, and in this case the victim is a young friend of Roarke. All seems to point out to the fact that someone ordered Yost to mess with Roarke, and ultimately who knows, maybe kill him. But why? And is Eve in danger too?.

Of course, there is much more than that in this book. An old friend of Roarke, Mick Connelly, reappears, and Eve cannot help but think he might be linked to the murders, despite Roarke's trust in Mick. Also, there is trouble in paradise for Peabody and McNabb, and more than some squabbles between Eve and some FBI's officers that are also trying to catch Yost.

On the whole, the points mentioned above help to make this a very engaging book, for those who like a good thriller with lots of action. I would like to point out, however, that the murders in this book are specially grim, so take that into account when deciding whether to buy this book. That having been said, I recommend "Betrayal in death" to you.

Belen Alcat

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

Average customer rating:

Don't Underestimate an Older Person
A classic story takes a new form
Got a mom? Send this book to her!
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
Simple really is profound

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
Velma Wallis
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun
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Raising Ourselves: A Gwich'in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River
If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska
The Covenant

ASIN: 0060723521
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Book Description

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).

Customer Reviews:

Don't Underestimate an Older Person.......2007-06-24

In this well-told tale of two tribewomen who are in their old age we see what determination can do. Having earned the respect of their tribe these two women have been content to let others do for them over the years. But their age hinders the tribespeople's movements and they are facing a brutal winter. The chief makes the decision to turn these two out into the harshness of the bleak Alaskan Yukon to live or die.

Together these two women forge a bond of friendship and recall the skills of their younger days, conquering the pain of unused muscles and fear of the unknown to survive even the harshest of conditions. The story comes full circle when they again meet up with their tribe and the chief who once turned them out now finds he and his people have need of their wisdom.

A wonderful book for just about everyone. Full of hope and determination.

A classic story takes a new form.......2007-05-27

A very classic story takes a new form here- two old women are the victims of betrayal from their tribe when it's too cold to continue to support them. The two women must venture out of their own and make a life for themselves. The book comes full circle when the old women themselves are in the position to save the tribe themselves.
The story of the courage to overcome the odds, and the stregth and struggle of the two women is a wonderful tale. Classic in that you learn you should not over estimate anyone, and you never know who in life you'll need. It's a touching tale, and well-told. It's a quick read.

Got a mom? Send this book to her!.......2007-05-26

This book is the best. I read the reviews and thought it would make a nice gift for my 76 year old mom for Mom's Day. Well, when I got in the mail I decided to take a peak. There was no putting it down. It's the most beautiful story of courage, friendship, determination and reflection. The story is very well written. The author brings you into the journey of these two women. Not just a geographical journey but a journey of reflection. I'm telling you, you'll love it. I sent it to my mom but I really want another copy just to keep under my pillow. Corny - read it.

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival.......2007-05-20

I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone. Young readers would enjoy it too. It's about two old women and survival in an area that seems to have very little to survive with. They were very innovative. As happens so often they were able to help their families in the end even though the young thought the elders had lost their usefulness.

Simple really is profound.......2007-02-14

As a teacher, I appreciate a book that can be read by any student at any age level. The life lessons taught in this tribal legend are timeless. The story unfolds begging the question of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one(Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn).

The chief of the tribe must make choices - difficult ones at that. The conditions are harsh, the two old women have been using their age as a tool to get the younger tribe members to serve their whims - they even fake some physical maladies to play upon the Peoples' compassion. This, it turns out, backfires on them. The chief makes the decision to banish them from the tribe to serve the needs of the trible. He is concerned that the women will bring the tribe down.

There are times when people in charge have to make decisions that are unpleasant - this is a reality.

The women are left to fend for themselves and the tribe moves on. The issues of family, societal expectations, and betrayal loom heavily in the reader's mind.

It brings about the discussion of modern society's obsession with youth and our disdain for those who are aged. Our nation's homes for the elderly are brimming - this book speaks to that issue. Getting old does not mean useless!

The women call upon lessons learned in youth to survive. They also discover that they need each other in more ways than one.

While the book is an easy read-don't let that mislead you into thinking it is not sophisticated fare. The life-lessons taught are important for everyone to learn and take to heart. I am astounded by this book! It gets my highest recommendation. Buy it-read it-learn from it.

Average customer rating:

Mildly entertaining
Emotional
This Book Will Touch You
A beautiful story
Bothersome in a necessary way

The Kite Runner (Alex Awards (Awards))
Khaled Hosseini
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1573222453
Release Date: 2003-05-29

Amazon.com

In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.

The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")

Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg

Book Description

An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

Download Description

"Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan , the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him. The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption."

Customer Reviews:

Mildly entertaining.......2007-06-29

Doesn't live up to the hype but a reasonable way to kill some time. Not boring but not great literature either.

Emotional.......2007-06-28

The Kite Runner has a plot that is fabulously woven together between cultures and countries. In-depth character development always makes for a great book. I yearned to fight kites and try to catch the kite that is cut. I felt I could see the Afghan way of life and their land. I could feel the emotion or lack there of as needed by the characters. This is another book that had me captured from the beginning and wanting more.

This Book Will Touch You.......2007-06-28

I was probably about 20 pages into this book when I realized I had something special in my hands. Before I was half-way done with the book, it easily ranked as one of my favorite books of all time. By the end, that thought was solidified even more so. You have to experience this book for yourself. Nothing anyone can say can do justice to the story and the emotion found in "The Kite Runner". It is, to put it simply, truly phenomenal.

A beautiful story.......2007-06-28

Beautiful, heartfelt, heart wrenching, enlightening: these words only begin to describe the impact of "Kite Runner." Reading this book you learn a lot about the recent history of Afghanistan. You learn what her people are like, and you learn what fate befell them. All of this is communicated through the eyes of a very "real" young man (by which I mean he's very human with his hopes, lies, dreams, mistakes, and secret emotions). This is a book about a true friendship, and about cultural understandings and misunderstandings. This is a book for all parents, children, friends, and lovers. Note: I wouldn't give this to read to anyone under the age of fifteen or sixteen given some scenes with severe violence. I knew I'd love this book from the minute I read the first paragraph. If I could give this book seven stars, I would.

Bothersome in a necessary way.......2007-06-27

It's haunting! It's fantastic! You will ache! You will rejoice! I needed to add my name to the thousand person list that gave this book 5 stars.

As an oblivious reader I have the luxury of being totally shocked with every twist in a storyline and it happens regularly here! Amir, one of the main characters as well as the narrator, is relentless with his ability to make bad decisions. It's amazing how hopeful and desperate Hosseini allows us to become, giving Amir an abundance of opportunities to right his wrongs and how he fails us repeatedly. You want Amir to be a hero, you want him to save us from the disturbing way you can identify with him.

This book is incredibly bothersome in such a necessary way, we are educated about culture, custom, honor and politics in unforgiving detail. If you have the emotional energy consider this a "must read".

Average customer rating:

Loved it
Learning art
Great Artist, Good Story, Fair Writing
At First Annoying and Then Enchanting
Art history for art's sake

The Lost Painting
Jonathan Harr
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375759867
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Book Description

An Italian village on a hilltop near the Adriatic coast, a decaying palazzo facing the sea, and in the basement, cobwebbed and dusty, lit by a single bulb, an archive unknown to scholars. Here, a young graduate student from Rome, Francesca Cappelletti, makes a discovery that inspires a search for a work of art of incalculable value, a painting lost for almost two centuries.

The artist was Caravaggio, a master of the Italian Baroque. He was a genius, a revolutionary painter, and a man beset by personal demons. Four hundred years ago, he drank and brawled in the taverns and streets of Rome, moving from one rooming house to another, constantly in and out of jail, all the while painting works of transcendent emotional and visual power. He rose from obscurity to fame and wealth, but success didn’t alter his violent temperament. His rage finally led him to commit murder, forcing him to flee Rome a hunted man. He died young, alone, and under strange circumstances.

Caravaggio scholars estimate that between sixty and eighty of his works are in existence today. Many others–no one knows the precise number–have been lost to time. Somewhere, surely, a masterpiece lies forgotten in a storeroom, or in a small parish church, or hanging above a fireplace, mistaken for a mere copy.

Prizewinning author Jonathan Harr embarks on an spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting known as The Taking of Christ–its mysterious fate and the circumstances of its disappearance have captivated Caravaggio devotees for years. After Francesca Cappelletti stumbles across a clue in that dusty archive, she tracks the painting across a continent and hundreds of years of history. But it is not until she meets Sergio Benedetti, an art restorer working in Ireland, that she finally manages to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle.

Told with consummate skill by the writer of the bestselling, award-winning A Civil Action, The Lost Painting is a remarkable synthesis of history and detective story. The fascinating details of Caravaggio’s strange, turbulent career and the astonishing beauty of his work come to life in these pages. Harr’s account is not unlike a Caravaggio painting: vivid, deftly wrought, and enthralling.
". . . Jonathan Harr has gone to the trouble of writing what will probably be a bestseller . . . rich and wonderful. . .in truth, the book reads better than a thriller because, unlike a lot of best-selling nonfiction authors who write in a more or less novelistic vein (Harr's previous book, A Civil Action, was made into a John Travolta movie), Harr doesn't plump up hi tale. He almost never foreshadows, doesn't implausibly reconstruct entire conversations and rarely throws in litanies of clearly conjectured or imagined details just for color's sake. . .if you're a sucker for Rome, and for dusk. . .[you'll] enjoy Harr's more clearly reported details about life in the city, as when--one of my favorite moments in the whole book--Francesca and another young colleague try to calm their nerves before a crucial meeting with a forbidding professor by eating gelato. And who wouldn't in Italy? The pleasures of travelogue here are incidental but not inconsiderable." --The New York Times Book Review

"Jonathan Harr has taken the story of the lost painting, and woven from it a deeply moving narrative about history, art and taste--and about the greed, envy, covetousness and professional jealousy of people who fall prey to obsession. It is as perfect a work of narrative nonfiction as you could ever hope to read." --The Economist

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it.......2007-03-08

I loved this book, although I must admit up front that I have a master's degree in art history, and lived in Italy in grad school (and therefore very much drawn to books such as this one). My friends in my book group that are not art historians did not find it as irresistable as I did, but they all liked it very much.

Learning art.......2007-03-07

This book is a fast read that teaches a lot! I knew very little of art history and never even heard of Caravaggio. The characters bring to life a story that we would otherwise be bored with on the History Channel. I love the way that you learn so much but get a good story out of it.

Great Artist, Good Story, Fair Writing.......2007-03-03

Finding a lost work by a master artist is always riveting: a Michaelangelo drawing found stuffed in the archives of the Cooper-Hewitt in New York, a Cimabue is noticed casually hanging on the wall of a house. So also the discovery of a much looked for but long lost painting by the 16th-century Italian, Caravaggio. This is the focus of `The Lost Painting.' Yet despite the subject, the author almost manages to make it boring. Almost.

Harr recounts the stories of the scholars, most of them Italian, involved in the discovery of Carravagio's 'The Taking of Christ,' which, as is often the case with lost masterpieces, was hidden in plain sight. It's a tale that, for a few years in the 1990s, has its principal characters criss-crossing Europe, slowly piecing together clues, hiding some of those clues from each other, being generous and being selfish, and ultimately coming together when they realize the magnitude of their discovery. And at its center is the brief and violent life of Caravaggio. In short, it is a very human story.

Unfortunately the author's prose often lacks passion, an ability to convey the extreme emotions that his characters no doubt felt. It is almost as if, the outcome known in advance, his actors are simply going through the motions. Despite this, however, Harr's attention to detail and methodic unveiling of each new development enables the reader to fill in the emotional gaps. In short, it's a good story, solidly written, but you'll need to add a splash of your own imagination. Given that this book takes you across a continent and across centuries, and into the world of the dangerous, beautiful, and brilliant Caravaggio, that shouldn't be too hard.

At First Annoying and Then Enchanting.......2007-02-07

I really love history, and especially art history. A book about the finding of the long lost Caravaggio painting "The Taking of Christ" got me really excited. Then I started reading it. Evidently authors like Mr. Harr feel that most people won't pick up a book that is not fiction so he writes in a way that gives new meaning to the term "narrative history". At first he seems to want to write a novel. We go riding through the mountains seeing the scenery, experiencing the ocean breeze, pulling over to the side to let faster vehicles pass us by. Our brakes aren't too good, but now the road gets wider....etc. I am getting very impatient with this book about this time. This is novelistic fill that I am reading.

But then half way through the book a new day dawns. We no longer have to sit through a dinner where an art historian has ordered "an antipasto of mixed seafood marinated in olive oil and lemon juice followed by medallion of veal with lemon and capers and a plate of spinach repassato, cooked with garlic and oil" (actual quote). We now enter a rather fascinating world of art restoration spiced with biographical details of Caravaggio's life. Is the found painting really Caravaggio's? How do we determine if it is? The book now hits its stride and all the early fluff is forgiven. On balance it is a commendable book of art detection and restoration that is devoid of academic stodginess. Lots of fun once you get past the ocean breezes.

Art history for art's sake.......2007-02-04

I began with little knowledge of art history and even less of Caravaggio, although I have always enjoyed looking carefully at fine works of art. I now know much more about Caravaggio. I deeply regret that our local art museum does not have any Caravaggio paintings in its collection, because I would love to see and study his paintings in person. This book is extremely readable. It is a very "fast read," and very informative.

Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews

Average customer rating:

Boring but important
The Quai d'Orsay's Anti-Semitism
Mind Numbingly Boring
An interesting introduction but lacks depth
ignorant political fanaticism

Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews
David Pryce-Jones
Manufacturer: Encounter Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594031517

Book Description

David Pryce-Jones believes that France has done more damage to the Middle East than any other country. France encouraged the mass immigration of Arabs and that huge and growing minority in the country now believes that it has rights and claims which have not been met. This minority also believes that Israel should not exist. Middle East geo-politics are spreading from French soil to an increasingly Islamized Europe.

Customer Reviews:

Boring but important.......2007-06-25

A weekly magazine I read has a category of news that it calls "boring but important." This book could be categorized in the same way. This is a history of French foreign policy in the Near East. The author does seem to be unnecessarily hostile to the French, but he also shows how French intrigues and chauvinism have contributed to the turmoil in the area. But both those words have French derivations, don't they?

I do recommend this book to help understand the situation in which we have become embroiled. The more we know, the more likely we are to find a way out.

The Quai d'Orsay's Anti-Semitism.......2007-06-19

David Pryce-Jones has written an insightful and incisive history of the anti-Semitic abd pro-Arab mindset of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the past two centuries. Based on original archival research, Pryce-Jones shows how the Ministry's career officials came from similar conservative, Catholic, anti-Republican backgrounds with similar prejudices and predilections. They steered a consistent foreign policy despite the changes of political regimes in France which to this day tries to position France as the Islamic and Arab world's European friend and the opponent of putative Anglo-Saxon and Zionist designs in North Africa and the Middle East. The book is engaging and well written.

Mind Numbingly Boring.......2007-06-14

In Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews, David Pryce-Jones chronicles the convoluted machinations of French foreign policy in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this important material is presented in a manner that renders it almost unreadable.

On page 20, for instance, we make the acquaintance of Jonathon Frankel, Adolphe Thiers, Ulysse de Ratti-Menton, Paul Frederic-Jean Grunebaum, Louis Herbette, Edouard Drumont, and The Marquis de Mores. On page 21 they are joined by Monsieur Kahn, Paul Blanc, M. Hanotaux, Mr. Almond, Madame de Schwartz and J.-B. Barbier.

Keeping track of this growing and obscure cast of characters represents a challenging chore, and after fighting through page after page of this I found myself befuddled and exhausted.

And then there is the writing itself.

Try to get your mind around this whopper of a sentence: "It was not possible for him to guarantee the authenticity of the enclosed document, he explained in a sentence revealing his belief in conspiracy, but it could be linked to information the department had received a few years earlier `on the subject of the preparation in the United States of the bolshevik movement whose trace it might be possible to recover' (M.A.E.-C.P.C/E-Levant/Palestine/1918-1929/Vol.15)".

It's like quicksand - you just get bogged down, you sink in, and eventually you give up.

This is unfortunate.

The author's argument that France's cynical exercise of power in the region has borne and will continue to bear bitter fruit is inherently sound. This message contributes to an understanding of the growing alienation and unrest of the very constituency that the French have sought to court.

Too bad that only the most determined of readers will be able to cut through Pryce-Jones' ponderous prose so as to be able to absorb what he is trying to say.

An interesting introduction but lacks depth.......2007-05-03

The subject of France's relationship and attitude towards Jews and Israel is surely one worthy of study, and David Pryce-Jones does a fair job in detailing the historical origins and patterns of bias within this history. To his credit, he here quotes documents never before made public detailing the depth of the anti-Semitism to be found in France's governing elite. He further does a good job detailing the degree to which France's desire to retain a fig leaf of its vanished glory as a great power and therefore insinuates itself into the conflict in the Middle East in order to confront the United State.

That said, Pryce-Jones does come up short in a number of ways in this thin work. On the subject of anti-Semitism among French elites in the 19th and pre-war 20th century he fails to contextualize how pervasive these attitudes were through out the Western World. Bendersky's "The Jewish Threat" does an excellent and exhaustive job of demonstrating these same attitudes in the US Army just as David Orren does regarding the diplomatic core. In Britain, such prejudices were likewise widespread. Granted, in France they mixed with militant Catholicism to form a particularly noxious brew, but still a discussion of this context would certainly have added to this book.

On the subject of the political ramifications of the presence of a large Muslim population in France, Pryce-Jones again does not delve sufficiently deeply. For example, that the center right candidate David Sarkozy derives support from attacking this portion of the population and arguing for a closer relationship with Israel. Again, a more thorough work would have provided interesting insights on the history and ongoing evolution of this social phenomenon.

Lastly, Pryce-Jones does not give sufficient attention to France's role in the EU and how it has managed to make the Union adopt is strategic vision regarding the Middle East despite other nations which tend to have differing outlooks.

That French policy is arrogant, perfidious, and self serving comes as a surprise to no one with any familiarity of the subject. Pryce-Jones does a good job indicting France's leaders with their own words and details their often serpentine and a moral strategy. For all of that, a subject of such importance deserved a more thorough examination. While this provides a good instruction, another longer work on the subject is surely required.

ignorant political fanaticism.......2007-04-06

David Pryce-Jones is a British neo-con who suffers from the well-known disease of "Franophobia". He has produced a book that is totally at odds with history and is little more the propaganda.

Reading this book, you would have no idea the role France had in the 1950s and 1960s in providing Israel with weapons. The Mirage jets that Israel fought the 1967 war with came from a collaborative relationship with France. France also collaborated with Israel in the 1950s and beyond in the area of nuclear technology and yes even nuclear weapons. In 1956, the French fought with the British and Israelis in a coordinated plan during the suez war. But out of hate, David Pryce-Jones erases the long relationship between Israel and France from history.

He also doesn't quite catch on the fact that France fought a bloody, devistating war in Algeria for many years or how the Crémieux Decree in 1870 gave all Algerian Jews full french citizenship even if they had been in Algeria for generations and had no tie to France. Or explain given his claims about how pro-arab/anti-jewish French diplomats and governments have always been, why such a decree was granted.

The author bashes france for having too many muslims living the country. Of course he has nothing to say about why the UK for decades allowed itself to openly serve as the worldwide base for the worst and most dangerous muslim political groups. Much easier to bash france than it is to accept the grim reality of what goes on at home. Everything he says about muslims in france can be said about almost every country in europe. Immigration is a reality. And the grim reality is that while David Pryce-Jones and his conservative friends whine over the issue, they are unwilling to give up the advantages that a cheap migrant labor underclass provides them.

France plays the "game" in the middle east in exactly the same way that the US, the UK and every other country does. Anyone concerned about the morality of French conduct would best not look at the American role in Saudi Arabia or Egypt or Jordan or any number of other states that the US props up. It would also be best not to look at American-Iraqi relations in the 1980s or Iran-Contra or any number of other sensiative subjects.

The author doeesn't understand France or the French view of the world at all. He is an outsider looking into something that doesn't have the ability to even begin to understand. After the Americans took over the role of being Israel's financial and military backers in the early 1970s, for all their contributions to the security of Israel they were pushed out of the way. If that situation changed, France would change. Like every other country, the relationships of France with the rest of the world are driven by its own interests.

David Pryce-Jones misinterpretes French political culture. He doesn't understand the long tradition in France of asslimilation of all groups into a broader French Culture and the importance of that within the society. That religion and ethnic identity should not play a part in the public sphere. He sees views expressed along these lines as evidence of hatred.

He draws up sinister conspiracies in the French diplomatic corps. But provides little evidence to support his ideas.

He is also upset that Ayatollah Khomeini was in France for four months before he returned to Iran. He doesn't seem to remember that Khomeini spent most of his time in exile in Iraq and Turkey...not France. He also sees the French as somehow putting Khomeini in power but offers nothing beyond conspiracy theory.

He blames France for Mohammad Amin al-Husayni not being put on trial as a war criminal after the second world war. What he leaves out is British role in that decision and British concerns about opinion in the muslim parts of their empire.

There is nothing useful in the book. David Pryce-Jones displays nothing but his own ignorance and fanaticism while being blind to what goes on in his own British back yard.

When Your Lover Is a Liar: Healing the Wounds of Deception and Betrayal

Average customer rating:

When Your Book Title Is a Lie...
Very helpful
Love ONLY grows in the fertile soil of trust!
Loving a liar is bad news
Helped me sort through a lot of conflicting feelings...

When Your Lover Is a Liar: Healing the Wounds of Deception and Betrayal
Susan Forward , and Donna Frazier
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060931159

Book Description

Have you ever been lied to by a lover? In this straightforward and supportive book, therapist Susan Forward profiles the wide variety of liars, shows you how to deal with the lies -- from the benign to the lethal -- that these men spin, and gives practical strategies to stop them before they ruin your relationship and, ultimately, your life.

Once you find out the truth about your lover and his lies, what do you do? Forward offers practical, proven, step-by-step methods for healing the wounds caused by his deception and betrayal. She provides all the communication and behavioral techniques you need to deal with a lover's lies, telling you exactly what to say, when and how to respond to his reactions, and how to present your requirements for staying in the relationship. With understanding and compassion, she helps you decide whether your relationship can be saved and shows you how to move beyond doubt and regret if you feel that it can't. But whether you stay or go, you can learn to love and trust again.

Customer Reviews:

When Your Book Title Is a Lie..........2007-04-16

When Your "Lover..." Is a Liar should be titled "When Your MAN Is a Liar..." The author is a women's advocate who only mentions men as liars and women as victims. She should have known better than to use a deceptive title given the nature of the book but probably didn't want to limit sales. Shame on her for lying and deceiving her readers.

Besides the obvious hypocrisy the issue is that when men escape from abusive, sociopathic women and then buy this book they're traumatized by feminist "men can do no right; women can do no wrong" dogma. The author, given her background, knows this; she just isn't willing to lose sales to prevent it. Maybe she'll insert herself as a case study into the next edition.

The reason I didn't give this book one star is a lot of the information is really good. Had it presented in a gender-neutral way -- as the title strongly implies it is -- this would have been a solid five-star book.

Very helpful.......2007-03-11

Who ever knew there were so many different types of liars? Anyone who has faced betrayal by someone they love will find this book helpful in explaining why they do what they do.

Love ONLY grows in the fertile soil of trust!.......2007-02-19

This is a relatively short, but extremely useful and informative read. It is written primarily for women, but it certainly can apply to men as well. It's too bad it didn't cover both sides because men are often on the receiving end of betrayal as well. This is part of my rationale for a 4 star rating. However, it is an excellent book overall and certainly still a worthwhile read for a man who is being lied to.

The book covers a lot of ground and does it well. It looks at the dynamics that motivate a person to lie, the various defense mechanisms that come up and it includes enough case histories to make the book interesting, but not cumbersome.

Most importantly, the book provides positive self talk, techniques for reframing events, getting grounded and using confrontation effectively. It also has some simple techniques borrowed from cognitive therapy that can be very empowering and help you regain balance and control.

Loving a liar is bad news.......2007-01-12

Whether the liar you love is just "mixed up", or true pathological liar, narcissist, relentlessly passive aggressive... this book is a must read and at the top of my list. Do realize that many of these people cannot be fixed and the prognosis might not be good even if they do get help- many people can be ONLY if they want- and you can love and live with them BUT pay attention to the differences and do NOT, I repeat, do NOT get mixed up with those whose signs are in big neon letters- BAD NEWS, much easier not to get involved than to try to untangle later. How much of YOU are you willing to give up to allow these people their all too often - sick games?Good luck, there is just SO much underlying this chronic behavior, imo, and life is short.

Helped me sort through a lot of conflicting feelings..........2006-08-07

I would definitely reccomment this book to anyone who has been lied to and decieved by a loved one. I read this two weeks after I found out my fiance had been cheating on me for 2 1/2 years. Although I chose to end it, it helped me sort out alot of the chaos in my mind.

Average customer rating:

review of a great book on sexual abuse
Good outline, lacks practical solutions
How to stop this chaos
Identifies Problem, but Doesn't Provide Solution
A Must Read !!!

The Betrayal Bond
Patrick J. Carnes
Manufacturer: HCI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558745262

Book Description

Exploitive relationships can create trauma bonds--chains that link a victim to someone who is dangerous to them. Divorce, employee relations, litigation of any type, incest and child abuse, family and marital systems, domestic violence, hostage negotiations, kidnapping, professional exploitation and religious abuse are all areas of trauma bonding. All these relationships share one thing: they are situations of incredible intensity or importance where there is an exploitation of trust or power.

In The Betrayal Bond Patrick Carnes presents an in-depth study of these relationships, why they form, who is most susceptible, and how they become so powerful. He shows how to recognize when traumatic bonding has occurred and gives a checklist for examining relationships. He then provides steps to safely extricate from these relationships.

This is a book you will turn to again and again for inspiration and insight, while professionals will find it an invaluable reference work.

Customer Reviews:

review of a great book on sexual abuse.......2007-04-10

This is a must read for anyone working with children or teens. Especially good for social workers, psychologists, youth leaders, and any family that has dealt with or is dealing with sexual or physical abuse of a loved one. I cannot give this book a high enough rating. Our daughter was sexually abused as a minor by a (used to be) good friend that we had known for 15 years. She had a very hard time getting out of the situation even as an adult. People do not understand the manipulation, brain washing, lying etc. that goes on in such a situation. If only we had known the signs to look for. Thanks you Patrick Carnes for your insight and for trying to open the eyes of the ignorant.

Good outline, lacks practical solutions.......2007-02-09

I am very thankful for this book, I learned things about myself that I couldn't quite figure out. This is the best thing I have seen about identifying these betrayal bonds. The problem I had with the book was it wasn't very helpful about where to go next and how to get better. I wish I would have had this years ago, and it was incredibly helpful in helping me identify things I never knew where they were coming from, and that is very helpful.

I read the book again and changed my review.

How to stop this chaos.......2007-01-09

This is a sensitive but straight forward book on the roles that are played out in relationships between the addict and those involved with them. Dr. Carnes also runs a rehabilative center, "Gentle Path" for those who recognize that they are addicted to sex. This is recommended reading for anyone who is willing to give addiction a honest look and what role the non-addict plays in their lives. It is powerful and worth following to find sanity, answers, and peace.

Identifies Problem, but Doesn't Provide Solution.......2006-02-20

I felt this book identified the problem extremely well. I could see how a relationship I've been in fits the description of a betrayal bond nearly perfectly. However, I was disappointed in that I did not think the solution was very clearly explained. In fact, p. 35 says that trauma bonds "can be formed almost instantaneously, but they can last forever," leaving me to wonder if there is any hope. p. 165 identifies the dimensions of recovery as healthy bonds, boundary development, role development, trauma resolution, systems change, sense of self, key metaphors, and a recovery plan. However, I did not feel that these dimensions (except perhaps the recovery plan) were adequately explained in the book. One final criticism is that the suggestion to develop healthy bonds seems to focus only on developing healthy bonds with a therapist and support groups. Not everyone is going to feel the need for therapy and support groups, if they have adequate support from significant people in their life. Why doesn't the author address the importance of forming healthy bonds with family and friends? I would think a trauma survivor would be better off with healthy, supportive relationships in their life in the form of family and friends, than to become dependent on a therapist and support group. I am not much of a believer in psychotherapy, so I did not find this particular book very useful. I would have liked concrete suggestions for how to detach from the person who I have this unhealthy bond with.

A Must Read !!!.......2005-12-24

If you are looking for a book about toxic relationships, and healing from them, you have found an excellent choice in reading. Patrick Carnes speaks so plainly, he is easy to unerstand, and will definately assist in your journy in healing from horrible relationships.

Carnes does a wonderful job of describing what trauma bonds are. Trauma bonds are when you become bonded, in an unhealthy way to a person, or a situation. Often these bonds are with people who abuse, or hurt us, hence the term betrayal bond. Carnes will carefully guide you through symptoms that you might have. He will describe many things that you may not have always related as being after shocks of bad bonding.

This bonding can come from a wide variety of things. The negative bonding can include anything from sexual abuse as a child, or even an adult, an abusive spouse, a neglectful spouse, along with a host of other reasons. We may feel shame, anger, hatred, or a variety of other feelings over these past events. Unfortunately, we can develop some responses to these issues that make us do unhealthy things.

Carnes guides you thought looking at your unhealthy patterns, and then askes you to write your life story, and look for patterns of people that you attract, and unhealthy patterns that have developed in those relationships. He feels that through understanding what has happened, your current actions, and making those connections will help you heal those past wounds.

This book is so easy to read. He speaks plainly. You will not be lost in technical words, as everything is explained clearly. I highly recommend this book to others who are looking to heal wounds from the past and present.

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