5 comments about Confessions of an Economic Hitman (Unabridged).

1. This book lets us know a very important piece of truth about how the world works, in particular how the us works to gain control of other countries. Compulsary for any conscient individual in today's world.



2. A must read book if you ask me! It is well written and you cannot stop reading it until it is finished. Even if only half of the stories are true, I think it opens your eyes to how rich countries (in this case the US) prey on poor nations across the world.



3. I found the book to be interesting from the standpoint of one man's perspective on two decades of US empire building. I have no doubt he believes what he writes and Americans will surely be reviewing with more than a passing glance the foreign policy decisions, past and present.
   
   I can appreciate this author's guilt by his role in "empire building" but he continually dedicates small portions of the books to self reflecting judgment and, more of less, implicates his upbringing, NSA profiling and a myriad of other BS excuses for why he continued to do what he did. Tell the story but please don't defend yourself to me.



4. I enjoyed the way the author tied details of modern history to the events of his life. Very thought provoking. I think it is striking the way the individuals who critique it for a lack of statistics provide none of their own.



5. I cracked this book open with the hopes of getting an insider's view of how corporate manipulation of international loans works. Unfortunately, Perkins reveals little except his takeaway from the experience. The overall feeling of the book was not that he wants to educate us on the machine and how it works but rather issue a mea culpa. It's long on feelings and short on detail. I was looking for something more well researched and detailed like "Blackwater" by Scahill which gives a deep account on how corporate players make money from war and the US government. Unfortunately, Perkins was only able to vaguely confirm what I know to be true, leaving me searching the book racks for someone who can explain the nitty gritty to me. I don't recommend it if you want to answer the "hows" of this really big and complex issue.

No comments about The Annex (Five Star First Edition Mystery Series).

No comments about The Last Frame.

4 comments about The Money Lovers.

1. Highly recommended noir - where has this author been



2. Went out and got my copy (like I said in my Cons review) and finished it in two days! What great follow-up. This book moves from start to finish and the characters keep you hooked. You feel like you are along for the ride. This would make a great movie (along the lines of Pulp Fiction).



3. Mr. Watts, I think you're an exceptional writer...This book is incredible. I would love to get an option on it or on "Cons," but the last time I checked...someone already had an option. I've made several films(shorts) one 33 minutes long--The Death Pages, won 1997 Worldfest Charleston and I acted/produced another for approx. $200K (not my money,of course). I called your agent Innovative Artists and they always tell me "Cons" is taken...maybe their option will run out one day and you'll give me a shot. I love your work and I can't wait to see what you do next. Maybe it'll be a film with me.



4. Hyped as being tip-top hardboiled noir, but I found it nothing special. Ex-Marine comes back to Southern hometown to find old flame married to a swindler. Everybody's greedy, sleeping with each other, and so on. You can guess where it heads from there...

No comments about With Hiroshima Eyes: Atomic War, Nuclear Extortion, and Moral Imagination.

No comments about BLACKMAIL: An entry from Thomson Gale's <i>West's Encyclopedia of American Law</i>.

3 comments about Aurora Floyd (Oxford World's Classics).

1. Having devoured Trollope, Willkie Collins, I happened onto Aurora Floyd and was truly surprised to find such an outstanding story so beautifully written. A dark secret revealed, a murder and a love story, this is a wonderful book.



2. "Aurora Floyd" may not be the best novel Mary Elizabeth Braddon wrote -- the honor goes to "Lady Audley's Secret" -- but, the book is still intriguing because of the contrast it makes with the other book and many other comtemporary novels, especially "Jane Eyre." And if you don't have these historical interest, the book is pretty interesting thanks to its good story telling.

   "Aurora Floyd" follows the history of the heroine of the same name, who has a shady past left in France. Aurora, unrestrained morally in her youth, hides some secret, but still attractive enough to make the two heroes fall in love with her. Without telling the nature of the secret, Aurora, strong-willed and candid, a gives a clear warning to one of them, proud Talbot Bulstrode, that he may one day regret his rash action if he dares to marry her. While he vanishes from her to marry other woman, tame and tender-hearted Lucy, the other suitor meek John Mellish succeeds in winning her heart, and he immediately marries her, not knowing her secret. As the time goes on, however, her hidden secret emerges from the past, and finally catches up with Aurora, living now quietly in a countryside. She must face the past, but how? While she is tormented by the sense of guilt, her husband began to suspect something wicked is going on, and he too began to suffer.

   The story is melodramatic, but it is the merit of sensation novels, the genre in vogue during the 1860s, and Braddon, as she showed in her previous (actually written almost at the same time) "Lady Audley's Secret," is very good at handling the subject. It is notable, however, that the author intends to do something different this time, spending more pages on the analysis of the psychology of the characters. The result is a mixed bag; sometimes she shows good descriptions of characters with a witty touch, which reminds us of Thackeray, the story sometimes gets slower because of too much philosophy. Compared with the fast-paced "Lady Audley's Secret," her new experiment may look somewhat damaging.

   But as a whole, the book is agreeable, and after you finish two-thirds of the book, Braddon makes the plot speedier. The last part includes one of the earliest examples of detective story, and a good (but short) portrayal of detective Joseph Grimstone's work is still fascinating. But the greatest merit of the book is its sub-text dealing with incredibly violent passion of Aurora, whose image is clearly mocking the typical angelic image of Victorain women. One of the book's scenes, in which the heroine gives a shower of blows with her wrip to her stable-man who bullied her dog, caused sensation and scandalized some critics. The description is still impressive today.

   In conclusion, "Aurora Floyd" is a fairly gripping story, even though it is not the best place to start reading her books or Victorian novels. If you think you are familiar with those Victoraiin novels, or want to read one of the effect following the impact of Bronte's "Jane Eyre," try it.

   Trivia: Braddon lived long (died in 1915), and before her death, she even watched the filmed version of her own "Aurora Floyd." Her life story is as intriguing as a story she wrote.

   [NOTE ON THE TEXT] Oxford University Press's "Aurora Flyod" uses the later edition of the book while Broadview Press's uses an earlier edition. The former one is considerable changed from the latter, so for the academic use you must be careful.




3. Beautiful Aurora is spoiled and petted but she carries a dreadful secret. As a young woman she impulsively marries her father's groom, leading him to pay the unsuitable suitor off.. But it will all come back to haunt her later, when she marries again. Among the most compelling "neglected" works of Victorian fiction.

No comments about History of the Grange movement, or, The farmer’s war against monopolies: being a full ... account of the struggles of the American farmers against the extortions of the railroad companies... By Edward Winslow Martin [pseud.] ...

No comments about Death Echo: A Libby Kincaid Mystery.

No comments about The Punisher: The Final Days: Extortion! (The Punisher, Vol. II, No. 53, Oct. 1991).