5 comments about Riptide.

1. What a clever writing team...Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I have never read a book by them that I didn't like immensely. Riptide is no exception. It's full of thrills and suspense. Move over Michael Crichton!
   The plot involves an island that has a Water Pit that was commissioned by a Renaissance era pirate and designed by a captured Renaissance architect. There is a huge pirate treasure buried at the bottom of the Water Pit, but all who have attempted to retrieve it over the centuries have given up, died, and/or went bankrupt. Will this new venture be any more successful? You won't want to put this book down until you've finished it.



2. This was the first Preston/Child book I had ever read, and if this book doesn't hook you on their work, nothing else will! This book blends science, pirate lore, and history seamlessly as we follow the adventure of a man desperate to confront his past, and a greedy company bent on recovering an ancient treasure.
   
   Using their uncanny understanding of science and history, Preston/Child spin a fabulous tale that keeps the reader hooked until the very last page. This is a must read for anyone who loves scientific, historical thrillers or is just a fan of Preston/Child.
   
   Timothy Lassiter, author of Three Degrees of Separation and The Devil You Know.



3. I have read Preston and Child books since discovering them last year. All the books are great and thrilling. I was a little concerned because many of the ones I'd happened to read all involved monsters that emitted strange scents. I'd begun to wonder if the duo was stuck in a rut. Well, I didn't have to worry, because Riptide is a whole different ballgame, yet equally as thrilling. The reader is hooked into the storyline on the first page, because yes, of course we all want to know what happens to Malin's brother. And yet, we are not bored with the convoluted way the author takes us to that answer. Kudos to Preston and Child for producing yet another excellent thriller.



4. I've always been a fan of Preston and Child. This book is no exception. The best "water based" thrillers I've ever read. Charcter development is unsurpassed. Four months after reading this I still vividly remember the characters and thier lives. The creepy island is extremely interesting and the twist at the end is great. With that said, its not their best novel but probably top five.



5. After reading The Relic and Brimstone (both books by Preston and Child and with the fictionilized character Pendergast) I decided to read something different. Believe me, this is probably one of the best books I have ever read. A true adventure. You will not be able to put it down until you have finished reading.

5 comments about Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.).

1. As one may glean from my other reviews, I'm impressed by a well-researched history book. Well-written is icing on the cake. This one has it all. Don't miss it!



2. I wasn't expecting to love a historical fiction book this much. Non-fiction usually doesn't keep me interested long enough to finish it. However, this book could have been a million dollar movie easily. The writing pulled me in and kept me hooked, and at the same time I learned facts about this important part of history that I never knew. I loved this book! If you want to hear more detail about this book or other books to read check out this site: [...]



3. Keep in mind that "Manhunt" is mostly written as a narrative story. The reader will be free of 50-caliber footnotes that grace just about every written piece on history topics. Those footnotes and those pieces are necessary and important, but "Manhunt" only makes the claim of being quite readable. This is why the book is interesting, and for the most part, hard to put down. If there were a category of "beach-book nonfiction," then this one should be at the top of the list.
   
   The reader all along will be asking herself, "how on earth can we know what individual people were thinking, doing, and saying to each other (and to themselves!) a century and a half ago?" The answer is, "we can't." The author does a splendid job of making these mental leaps for this very engaging book, knowing that the worldly reader (all of us, of course!) will suspend his belief that all the dialog, facial expressions, etc., actually happened exactly as described. We readers will also be well-sensitized to checking the story details as they tend to pop up in our lives, for the rest of our lives. This is truly an inspiring work in that respect.
   
   Exactly true or not, every person reading this will find some part of the Lincoln assassination story which they have not known before, perhaps about certain characters that show up in the story. As some reviewers say, sometimes there are too many, too quickly showing up. Fair enough. The tale proceeds well anyway. Get the book!



4. This book is spellbjnding. the author takes the reader on a wild ride through the backwoods and city of early Washington. The author describes in detail what was going through boothes mind when he snuffed out the life of one of America's greatest presidents. It is a must read.



5. This book really is as good as it says it is. This book really provides an in depth overview of the murder and the chase. It offers the view through those searching and JWB. It really is amazing to realize how Booth hid for so long when he was the most wanted man in the country. This is a very in depth, well written and interesting book. Highly reccommended to anyone interested in American history.

5 comments about This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War.

1. than a flowing narrative about this overlooked topic. While many of the writer's statistics are informative and much information has been gathered little attempt was made to construct a compelling book or to draw wider conclusions from the data presented. I would like to see a book centering on deaths in one army or one regiment even and how those experiences reflected themes in the Civil War rather than this authors style of stitching together a series of essays on different topics related to death in the CW. The reader is left sifting through alot of vignettes about lost soldiers, grieving wives etc...



2. This is a profoundly moving book about America's first real experience with the massive death that war can cause. At the time, America did not know how to deal with the overwhelming death rate and the resulting confusions with burial, identification and keeping basic statistics. Sometimes it was years before families received any kind of closure on the death of their sons, brothers, fathers, and other relatives. Dr Drew Faust of Harvard has done an outstanding presentation of the era and the role of the religions, in particular, Spiritualism. Spiritualism, with its promise of reunion on the other side and continuous life had some of its greatest moments during this time. I found the chapter on COUNTING to be of particular interest. It reminded me of my research on the HOLOCAUST, where I had to remember that numbers are not just statistics, but records of the unrealized potentials of individual souls. Dr. Faust had created a beautifully written record of an uninvestigated part of our history.



3. This book repudiates any romantic or sentimental view of the Civil War one may hold. It was a truly gruesome affair. I give the book three stars for dull prose and the introductory chapter seeming more like a conclusion. Faust was best when synthesizing primary materials - letters home, statistics, muster rolls... She seems to have been inspired, at least in part, by Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic - a much better read ultimately.



4. Readers of Civil War histories will inevitably come across the gruesome death statistics which are shocking even today after the wholesale bloodletting of the two world wars. What they won't come across, at least in my experience, is a thoughtful examination of the meaning and long-term implications of those statistics, at least until now in this wonderful examination of the subject. Ms. Faust sets the stage by highlighting two facts often given short shrift in discussions of the war's carnage: both sides' shock when they realized that the it likely would last years and not the months many had anticipated, exacting many more casualties than anyone anticipated, and that these deaths were not taking place on some foreign field where their impact was at least to some extent softened by the distance, but rather in a neighbor's field and sometimes literally on one's doorstep. On a more prosaic level, I would bet I'm not alone in never having pondered how the Civil War dead were identified or otherwise accounted for before the inroduction of "dog tags", how their remains were disposed of, whether an effort was made to return them to their homes, etc. Well, Ms. Faust certainly has done so and has produced a reasonably brief but obviously deeply considered volume which I believe will hereafter become an essential adjunct to a thorough understanding of the war and its consequences for the country.



5. Academic. Readable. Redundant in places. Should have been longer in some ways, and shorter in others.
   
   My primary disappointment was to finish the book with no perspective on how our American way of coping with death in the latter half of the 19th century fit with the European world. Was the concept of "a good death" peculiarly American? Did the Germans or English or French have systems for recovering battlefield corpses and notifying kin? Were the Eurpopean's horrified by the Civil War? Were our death rates for this war unusual compared to European wars? Why did Maine have a population larger than Connecticut in 1860? Was our civilian army unusual?
   
   But it was an excellent book, and Ms. Gilpin should be commended for writing this social history on an under-examined topic. I think adding illustrations to it of folk-art responses to death would have been interesting - perhaps a companion volume?

5 comments about The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3.

1. This was a fabulous novel with such an incredibly deep understanding of the history of New York City. This novel left me in love with New York City and wanting to learn more. I love the time period that much of the novel refers to, and the mystery/thriller aspect of the novel was also well written. Again, an A+ for Preston/Child and I can't wait to see what comes next.
   
   Timothy Lassiter, author of Three Degrees of Separation and The Devil You Know



2. You know how you can always tell "Ensign Fodder" by the red shirt he's wearing? Not so in this one. I was actually wrong about the fate of one of the characters! That hasn't happened in a long while, and any book creative enough to stump me gets high praise indeed. And while the ending wasn't exactly the way I would want it, it was still a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who's read any of the other Child/Preston books and enjoyed them (this was my first exposure, and I don't think reading them out of order detracted much at all since each is a solid stand-alone story).



3. I have read all of the Pendergast novels and other various Preston/Child works and find myself always thinking of this one as my favorite. Although I like the "Diogenes Trilogy" (Brimstone, Dance of Death and Book of the Dead), this one seemed to really work my imagination better. It was more mentaly stimulating for lack of a better phrase.
   
   One of the reasons I liked this book so much is because although the idea of Enoch Leng's "work" is a little far fetched, it isn't quite as out there as the Relic/Reliquary monsters. Things are more believable and therefore seem more realistic.
   
   Without saying too much, I liked the way that they linked Pendergast to the story to add more substance to his family's "affliction." It also a better way for him to involve himself in a case than the way he takes special interest in odd cases like in "Still Life with Crows." This way, he has a personal interest in the case.
   
   Lastly, this book goes to show Pendergast more human and less superhero than in others. In this book he goes through some rough spots and it's good to see him not getting through things unscathed but have to work hard.
   
   Overall a great book and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys the Pendergast books or has enjoyed other Preston/Child works.



4. PLOT: In Manhattan a modern apartment tower is about to be build. When the excavators break into a basement, they uncover the remains of 36 people murdered and gruesomely mutilated over 130 years ago. FBI Special Agent Pendergast and museum archaeologist Nora Kelly start an investigation that reveals the doings of a mysterious doctor who once conducted medical experiments on living human beings. But just as Nora and Pendergast begin to unravel the clues to the century-old killings, a new spree of murder and surgical mutilation erupts in New York.
   
   I am a fan of the writer duo Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. So far their former 6 books were entertaining, thrilling and also a bit scary. (Well, except for "The Ice Limit" which was a bit boring.) Overall always a great mixture between mystery and science. As a result their books are way above the average.
   
   This book really starts well, the stetting is horrible and mysterious, the stage is set for the hunt after a cruel killer and the reader meets characters from previous Preston/Child books like the really cool FBI Agent Pentergast (The Relic, Reliquary) and Nora Kelly (Thunderhead).
   Unfortunately the longer I read the less I enjoyed the book.
   
   Pendergast knew too much too early and too easily plus he shared his knowledge with nobody. The other policemen were kept in the dark as well as the reader. Basically it might be a bit more thrilling for the reader not to know too much but in this case this was just too exaggerated and happened too often. After a while it seemed more than stupid to keep other law enforcement colleagues in the dark for so long. Therefore Pentergast's strange behavior started to annoy me.
   The story development towards the ending is strange as well. The idea of Pentergast's sort of personal bond to the ancient and recent killings is kind of stupid and neither believable nor necessary at all. Pendergast travelling back in time through a memory crossing technique to discover places and incidences that he did not know anything about in real life, plus interacting with people in this dream? This idea is so absurd it hurts. On top of that the final solution to the whole scenario is just too far-fetched for my taste.
   
   Having solutions based on science and mystery is ok but overall the story should be within certain boundaries. This time however Preston/Child went several steps too far and it was more than I could bear.
   
   Bottom line:
   The beginning plus book's initial story are ok and the writing style is good (as usual). Unfortunately the solution is really bad and therefore the book is disappointing in the end. I read all 6 of their previous novels before and I would rank "Cabinet of Curiosities" at the very bottom! (I especially recommend reading "The Relic" and "Riptide" because they kept me awake for long hours and chilled me to the bone.)
   I will wait a while before I read another Preston/Child book and hopefully their next book I plan to read (Still life with Crows) is better.



5. This was the first time I had read a Preston and Child book. I read a lot of reviews that highly praised this book. And I honestly expected it to be a lot better then what it was. To me personally, I found this book to be kind of "high schoolish," meaning it doesn't really fit my idea for an adult book? (Minus the language in certain areas of the book) But I can say that they did a good job building your suspense up, however they dropped it just as fast and moved on to another topic. So with that being said, I just found this book to be "OK" and I doubt I will read anymore books by Preston and Child.

5 comments about The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage.

1. Like so many Americans, I am an enormous admirer of Abraham Lincoln. I have dipped into other biographies of this extraordinary man, but found myself at times distracted by the myriad details of political and military events. This biography, on the other hand, I could not put down. Through his exquisite prose, astute insights, and meticulous research, Epstein illuminates the complex relationship between Abe and Mary Lincoln. Epstein brings his sensibilities and intuition as a poet to this marvelous and very readable work. He tenderly recounts the details of the courtship of this fascinating couple, their early married days, and their lives together in Springfield, Illinois and the White House. He tells the story of a marriage that started out with great love and passion, but became crushed under the enormous losses and pressures suffered by both. Epstein helps us to understand the intense bond between the two that endured most of their lives, despite their very different temperaments, values and morals. How fortunate we the readers are to have this intimate glimpse into the real makeup of the Lincolns' marriage.



2. This book has a most intriguing look at the Lincolns as human beings. The Lincolns certainly seem more realistically portrayed in this book than in previous works. Daniel Mark Epstein provides his readers with both a new angle on the Lincolns as well as plenty of information to back up most of his assertions. However, Epstein does have a tendency every now and then to make assertions about the Lincoln's private life than the sources actually reveal. Although this does dampen the book's overall quality, it still makes for a fascinating read.



3. Mr. Epstein writes a very personal portrayal of the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. His book is easy reading for a historical book, and the author chooses not to burden the reader with voluminous footnotes in the text, but rather lists each quote and source in the appendix by chapter. The book is perhaps the finest and best researched exposition of the character of the Lincoln's marriage.
   
   Epstein does a wonderful job of illustrating how good the Lincoln's marriage really was, as far as their compatibility and closeness. They both loved poetry and they both loved politics. Almost all the strategy and speeches that Lincoln made prior to his run for the Presidency were at the very least, run by Mary before he made his presentation. Mary gave critical and helpful advice on the substance and tone of his speeches. In addition, the Lincoln's were very affectionate toward each other. Mr. Epstein actually points out that it was the practice of the Lincoln's to make love to each other every night. This active love life continued until the birth of Mary's last child, Tad, whose head which was very large at birth, seriously damaged her birth canal and made sex difficult and painful from that point onward.
   
   In addition, the author does an excellent job of illustrating the serious `mood disorder' that seems to have afflicted Mary throughout her life, and which increased in severity as she grew older. There are numerous stories all through their life together of this erratic behavior which are mentioned in the literature of historians and well presented in this book. By the time Lincoln won the Whitehouse, Mary's moods were so erratic, that it led John Hay, one of two main secretary/assistants that Lincoln had as President, to refer to Mary as "The Hellcat." Her rage could be released at the slightest incident and her jealousy was enormous.
   
   Overall, the book does a wonderful job of explaining and portraying the marriage and how Lincoln interacted with his wife Mary all through his marriage to her. It is a must read book for those readers interested in Lincoln and his administration. In addition, it is a wonderful read for any reader who has interest in a deeply personal rendering of the inner life of perhaps the best remembered American President. It comes highly recommended.



4. Mr. Epstein has given us an intimate look into one of the most captivating political marriages in US history. It is beautifully researched and is told with the sensitivity of a poet. Not since Lash's Eleanor and Franklin have I enjoyed a book of this nature so much. It has the backbone of a text book and the soul of a novel.



5. There is a review in this week's THE WEEK magazine, calling Epstein's book 'maybe the best Lincoln book in a generation.' I know that Abe Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln have had many biographers, but I can't recall a biography (like this one) that felt so compelling. It was literally 'hard to put down.' Epstein has given us a unique perspective on a pivotal portion of the nation's history, and done so with nuance and heart. This is, flat out, one of the best books I've read in the past few years.
   
   Don Mayer
   Denver, Colorado

5 comments about Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2).

1. The authors have written another thriller. I had to read the next chapter but neglected my tasks to do so. The authors gave substantiating data on the underground of Manhattan. However the ending was not in the characters' former behavior. Although it was a true page turner it lacked a believable ending. This book was not as good as The Relic nor the Book of the Dead the I have read by the authors.



2. While I agree this book wasn't as good as Relic, it certainly was an admirable follow-up to it. Storylines left hanging in Relic were resolved albeit perhaps not in the most exciting of ways. What I read in this book enticed me to purchase The Mole People to find out more about the underground world brought out in the book.



3. While I really enjoyed RELIC, I didn't find myself feeling quite the same about Reliquary. I liked the way the book started out, I liked the premise of the book and thought it was interesting, and as always, I enjoyed Pendergast and D'Agosta. Unfortunately, I felt that there were way too many subplots. There were too many different people doing too many different things. It got distracting at times. If you liked Relic, you will probably like this book, but don't expect it to thrill you quite as much.



4. Reliquary, the sequel to Relic, is basically the same story introduced in Relic. We have the monster in the sub level(s), we have the incompetent chief of police making poor decisions, we have the "fool proof plan" that doesn't work and we have the reporter being lead around by a powerful woman who coerces him to tell the story she wants to hear. I did find the parts about the sub levels of Manhattan interesting and I think the ending of Reliquary is better than that of Relic. The authors would have been better served if they made Relic and Reliquary one book. It seems like once they had a hit with Relic they decided to do Reliquary as an afterthought.



5. Recently, I read an interview with Douglas Preston where he commented that RELIQUARY was probably the least successful of the "Agent Pendergast" books that he co-writes with Lincoln Child. After reading this book, I'm inclined to agree with him.
   
   RELIQUARY is the second Pendergast novel and a direct sequel to the first book RELIC. It pretty much re-introduces all the major characters of THE RELIC and many additional ones. And this is the major flaw with RELIQUARY: there are simply too many characters and plot threads in this book, which don't really tie together in a satisfaying manner.
   
   There's also a "been there, done that" quality to RELIQUARY that makes it a rather tiresome read. Preston and Child reuse many of the plot devices from THE RELIC, and there is little in this novel that is particularly original or inspired.
   
   And most importantly, Pendergast only plays a supporting role in RELIQUARY, and the novel suffers in every scene where he is absent. Characters like Margot, Smithback and D'Agosta are simply not interesting enough to carry scenes on their own, and all of the other supporting characters are either too bland or cartoonish. I think the smartest move that Preston and Child ever made was to elevate Pendergast as the central character in this series, starting with the next entry, CABINET OF THE CURIOUSITIES.
   
   That being said, I didn't hate RELIQUARY. It's a decent adventure story, and there's no denying that Preston and Child are very intelligent writers. Still, this is far from their best effort, and I wouldn't recommend this to anybody as their first Pendergast book.

5 comments about The Wheel of Darkness.

1. Well I waited awhile for this book to finally come out in paperback. I've read everything from Preston and Child. They are undoubtedly the best out there and always provide a fun read. They remain consistently good and provide thrills, scares, lots of action, and all-out page turners. I was excited to finally read the book and it starts out well with a fast pace. It has a great mystery that develops into a superb cat-and-mouse pursuit with Pendergast and the villain. Pendergast is at the top of his game in this one and races against the clock to pursue the antagonist. I thought it would end up being one of the best novels but unfortunately the ending seems to be rushed and to me didn't really deliver. The final encounter with the formidable villain and Pendergast should've been so much better, but other than that it was still a great read that I breezed through.



2. don't get me wrong, the book is definitely worth a read (i managed to read through it in one go), but when you have read other Preston&Child novels, this one just lacks something. it is not as nerve wrecking, not as exciting, not as surprising. instead, i found myself a bit taken aback by the supernatural turn of events - it just didn't fit into the book.



3. Fairly early on in THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS authors Preston and Child make two major errors that leap off the page with a scream.
   
   The two protagonists literally miss the boat--the ocean liner Britannica, which leaves the dock just as they arrive. Fortunately, they have enough influence to place a telephone call, have the ship back up, redock, and take them aboard. Somewhat later, the central character discovers card counters at work in the ship's casino. He reports this to the casino pit, which he describes as a closed room with television monitors that allow officers to watch the play at each table.
   
   Now, ocean liners don't just back up and redock. It doesn't work that way, and in any case if you miss the boat but it is still in harbor you can always take a small boat to board the liner before it reaches open water. And no, the pit is actually a part of the gaming floor; what the book calls "the pit" is actually the survelliance room, and quite frankly any self-respecting survelliance officer would have spotted the card counters long, long before they took the bank.
   
   There's lots more stuff like this in THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS, which might best described as Indiana Jones meets the Mandala of Doom: little things that are more distinctly fantasy than actual fact. And in truth when all is said and done, THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS has "premeditated bestseller" stamped all over it, very much as if the authors sat down with marketing gurus and came up with some basic rules, such as not using a lot of hard words and avoiding compound-complex sentences in the narrative.
   
   The story is a bit slow to start, concerning special agent Pendergast and his ward Constance, who visit a Tibetan monastery only to be told that an artifact has been stolen: an item that has the capacity to put an end to humanity once and for all. Pendergast agrees to locate and return the item, which he ultimately discovers on an ocean liner bound for the United States. It is, not to put too fine a point on it, the mandala from hell, and before Pendergast and Constance manage to locate it quite a lot of that hell begins to break loose.
   
   Although it really is too ify in terms of details and feels excessively premeditated, THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS really is a fun book, the sort of thing you scarf down in one or two sittings. But like many books of its kind, it doesn't linger. You read it, enjoy it, and when the book is over you never think twice about it again. Recommended as mindless entertainment.
   
   GFT, Amazon Reviewer



4. Special Agent Pendergast is my favorite character throughout all the Preston and Child books I've read. It seems they took a different direction with his personality in this one. If you've read the others, you should realize that he doesn't quite seem like himself in this book. I missed him flashing his FBI badge at everyone, prying information out of unknowing suspects, and well, just being his clever self in general. He barely wore his black suit and never used the extra lock-picks in his pants. Additionally, the only new thing we learned about the special agent is that he is apparently very familiar with techniques of the Kama Sutra. I don't know how this information will play out in future novels, but hopefully not with Constance. There were still plenty of clever aspects, but this book just didn't seem on the same level as some of the others. I have also started to grow a strong aversion to Constance. There's something about her that I just don't like. Hopefully she will be a villain in the next book and be killed off like Diogenes. Even still, I can hardly wait for the next installment next summer.



5. The 3.5-star Wheel of Darkness has all you'd expect from this series: interesting settings, good characters, and an involving mystery that requires Pendergast's unique array of talents. Setting most of the action in the closed world of an ocean liner works well, and we get interesting details on everything from shipboard operations to Tibetan art.
   What drags this one, for me, a notch below the rest of the series is the effect of the supernatural elements on Pendergast. It was established in Still Life With Crows that, despite his fondness for Eastern mysticism, Pendergast absolutely rejects the existence of the supernatural. In this novel, when he comes face to face with an unquestionable supernatural event for the first time, it doesn't throw him nearly as much as it should. Despite his attempt to reconcile science and the supernatural in the last chapter, Pendergast has run into something that shatters a major component of his worldview, and he doesn't seem much affected by that.
   Other than that, it's another first-class adventure, hard to put down as always. I look forward to the next installment. (I'd also like to see another Preston-Child collaboration where Pendergast is not center stage, or is absent altogether: all their stand-alone novels like Thunderhead have been excellent.)

5 comments about The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club).

1. I love this book and will miss the characters when I am finally done. Fewer than 100 pages to go and dreading coming to a close (as my friend indicated when she recommended the book). The characters are so well written, you feel you know them. I am surprised that over 200 people rated this 3 or less - I would be interested in what they include on their list of favorites. The building of the cathedral, though central, was simply a way to bind the characters, but those with an interest in architecture or cathedrals should find this aspect very interesting. I have always enjoyed visiting the churches of Europe and this gives me an even greater appreciation. Though 900+ pages may seem daunting, I read it in less than a week during my commute and often could not put it down once home. I was not a reader of Follett, but will likely read many many more of his novels if this one was any indication of his writing style and depth. Bravo Follett!!



2. Follett slogs along where Michener or Kingsolver might have soared. Michael Crichton gave us more excitement and far more valuable historical insights in "Timeline." The ongoing theme of cathedral building is a compelling notion, but the author's handling of the characters and their interaction eventually becomes as tedious to read as the book is weighty to hold (nearly 2 pounds in its paperback form.)



3. I haven't enjoy a book some much in a long time.I was so happy when he wrote a sequel.
   It's a book that you can not put down,You just forget everything that is going on around you.



4. I haven't enjoyed a book as much as this in quite awhile. You need no knowledge of the time-period to enjoy the story. I found the book to be a page-turner from the very beginning. I didn't want to put it down at all. The ending was anti-climatic for me though but the book was so good throughout that it didn't matter at all.



5. Fascinating reading, involving interesting characters as well as what life was like and how cathedrals were built in 12th century England.

5 comments about Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

1. Received order as expected in a timely manner...A great book on Araham Lincoln's Presidential life



2. Reading about the deeds of these great men makes me depressed when I think about the trolls we have in Washington today. Reading about Lincoln's visit to battlefield hospitals or about the children of cabinet members who fought in the Civil War...it really makes you think about the current state of our government.



3. Being occasionally an idiot, I find myself with some form of prejudice against female authors. But Doris Kerns Goodwin does a masterful work in portraying the events and characters of Abraham Lincoln's day.
   This is a fascinating character study of the people surrounding the American Civil War (an oxymoron if there ever was one). It is made possible by the fact that with no telephones, radio, or TV media; people wrote. They wrote to spouses, family, friends, enemies, rivals, newspapers, dairies, in both personal and public formats. Goodwin's apparent exhaustive study of these writings is obvious from the beginning as she exposes both the true and the two faced characters revealed by their own writings.
   This book was fascinating for me in several areas. Lincoln had two qualities that usually do exist in the same person. He was a warm hearted, transparently honest, relational, forthcoming person of character and integrity. And he was a masterful genius of a politician.
   I would make this 'required reading' for anyone who wants to hang on to their sanity in a political environment. By political environment I mean places such as the management & supervisor professions, classroom teaching, religious ministry, and certain family situations resembling my own.
   But beware, Goodwin's exhaustive character development of Lincoln's contemporaries can get tedious. I occasionally skimmed thru some of it, much to my regret later in the book. Pay attention to all she says, there is an incredible payoff mid way thru.
   I saw Barak Obama on the news holding a copy Team Of Rivals and saying something to the effect that it was his favorite book. If you are a fan of Obama, you ought to read it. If you are not, even more must you read it to understand what he might be up too.
   Thomas S Boswell



4. Abraham Lincoln left us very little of a personal nature: no meeting notes, no journal, no revealing personal letters. William Herndon, his law partner, described Lincoln as the most shut mouth man he had ever met. No wonder the man's an enigma. Absent a primary source, the best way to dig beneath the surface is to look at the people Lincoln chose to be around and how the various parties interacted. Goodwin does an exceptional job of revealing a great deal about Lincoln by using this technique.
   
   Team of Rivals is a readable and fascinating study of Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet--also his working relationship with his assistants. We may not know a lot of first-hand details about Lincoln's personal thoughts, beliefs, and personality, but we know that with less than a year of formal education, Lincoln held his own with a cabinet impeccably educated in the best institutions in America. These weren't just bright, well educated people; they were the power brokers of the newly formed Republican party.
   
   How Lincoln harnessed this talent tells us a lot about the man and his capabilities. Goodwin has done an outstanding job of illuminating a crucial period in our country's history by using a fresh approach and her lifetime experience examining and writing about key figures in American history.
   The Shut Mouth Society
   The Shopkeeper



5. Team of Rivals starts with following the lives of four different people prior to the 1860 presidential race. The four people were Seward (becomes Sec of State), Chase (becomes Sec of Treasury), Bates (becomes Attorney General) and finally Lincoln. Doris does a fine job in describing the events that led up to the Republican nomination. She tries to make the point that one of Lincoln's great political moves was incorporating these rivals into his cabinet. The story of these 4 individuals is interesting to read and leads up to the climax of the Republican nomination at about page 256 (book is 754 pages total). However, her point then fizzles out after this point. Bates becomes a minor character in the book. Furthermore I came to realize that the fact Lincoln picked these rivals as his cabinet members was not necessarily such a brilliant move. First, Presidents' choosing of their rivals for political appointments is nothing particularly interesting, new or unique. For example, Vice Presidential nominees are frequently the Presidents' nominees. When I first heard about the book's premise, I expected the rivals to have been from the opposite party but I soon found out that was not the case. Second, the fact that Lincoln picked his rivals did not necessarily add to the effectiveness of his administration. As Doris shows there was a lot of arguments among the cabinet members and Lincoln had to mediate frequently.
   
   Doris does a very nice job depicting Lincoln's genius however. Lincoln had a lot of unique and outstanding qualities that made his years as President a huge success. The author could have focused on a lot of these other attributes. For example, Lincoln's generosity and amazing ability for forgiveness was truly unique. He once said, "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends" (this quote was not in the book). This way of looking at the world and actually acting on it certainly contributed greatly to his success and unfortunately after his assassination because of its absence made reconstruction a lot more difficult.
   
   The book is perhaps too long with some parts and quotes not being relevant. It would have been better if it were shorter. Nevertheless I highly recommend it for its clarity, thorough research and excellent writing.

5 comments about The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel (Lincoln Rhyme).

1. I have often commented on reading a Deaver novel, that I would not want this man's nightmares. He is solidly on his game in his latest Lincoln Rhyme novel.
   
   Others have gone into great detail about the pieces of the puzzle that the paraplegic crime scene investigator, Lincoln Rhyme and his intrepid sidekick and lover, Amelia Sachs must piece together.
   
   The villian (there is always a villian) in this piece is "the man who knows everything." Through his access to people's identities he is able to commit crimes and have others blamed for them. How he gets this acess and what drives him is the meat of this book and the less revealed about the plot, the better, I believe for future readers.
   
   All one needs to know is that this is Deaver, still at his best, with a pot boiler of a story which has more twists and turns than a Le Mans race course and which will also get the reader thinking about the technology of our times, its use and its abuse and what that can mean to all of us.
   
   Don't let this one slip by you.



2. No spoilers
   
   As I've said in my last several Deaver reviews, this book is another example of Deaver being Deaver. Sometimes I wonder if it's even possible for him to come up with a boring and tedious story--especially after eight books in the Lincoln Rhyme series alone--but of course, it is not.
   
   I'd have to say that my favorite thing about The Broken Window is what has been my favorite thing about all of Deaver's novel (both within and outside of the Rhyme series) ever since I first stumbled upon them, and that is how it is the perfect balance between an easy read and captivating story. While some easy reads are so primitive and simplistic as to not be entertaining, and some captivating stories are so complex they require absolute concentration, this novel has some elements of both, so that whether you're in your private study or the middle of Newark International Airport (like I was while reading parts of this), you'll still be enthralled either way.
   
   Basically, as is the case with any Deaver novel at this point in the series, if you never read any of it, go back and start at the beginning (of the Rhyme series at least) with The Bone Collector. Otherwise, if you've gotten this far, why are you even reading this review? You know you're going to read and enjoy anything by Deaver so why bother?
   
   PS: His stand-alone novels are just as good. My personal favorite is still the first Deaver book I ever read that got me hooked, called The Blue Nowhere. Read it!



3. This book was excellent; one of those thrillers that keeps you on the edge of your seat page after page. Easily one of Deavers' best novels to date! Gritty characters, unpredictable plot twists.....In terms of forensic thrillers, Jeffrey Deaver is truly one of the best authors around right now. A master of his craft!



4. What would you do if you woke up one day to discover that your bank accounts were at zero, your mortgage unpaid according to the bank, your car repossessed even though you'd paid it off, and your job terminating your employment because your most recent drug test came back positive even though you've never used drugs a day in your life? Even worse - what if you were arrested with slam dunk evidence for a murder you didn't commit? The Broken Window is just that - a series of murders committed by a sly and highly intelligent criminal that has access to all of the data for every person in the United States. But to the shock and horror of those arrested, he has managed to frame innocent people for the murders by planting evidence that corresponds to their recent purchases. Your favorite condom brand? He'll use it in a rape. Your favorite beer? Will just happen to be in the tread of the shoeprint he leaves behind - with your shoe brand and size!
   
   Lincoln Rhyme has his attention brought to this scary serial killer because his cousin winds up arrested for a brutal stabbing. Lincoln hasn't been in contact with this cousin for many years, but has trouble believing that he could be a murderer. With his partner Detective Sachs and the others that typically assist Rhyme in solving crimes, they trek through the layers of physical evidence and transfer evidence in an effort to learn something about their latest adversary and try to stay one step ahead of the man that knows everything.
   
   This thriller is Deaver at his finest. He hasn't written a Lincoln Rhyme novel this strong in a while. The bad guy is super scary, the premise frighteningly possible, and the pages just turn and turn and turn. This is a book that will be difficult to put down at night but could cause nightmares for the faint of heart. This book references past cases, characters, and killers as well as foreshadows books to come. A fantastic thriller!!



5. One of the best novels that I have listened to this year and perhaps the best Lincoln Rhyme mystery to date.