Louisa May Alcott: Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys (Library of America) Review

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(More customer reviews)Louisa May Alcott is best known for her classic novel "Little Women," an enchanting look at growing up. But the story of Jo March didn't stop when she went to Plumfields. This collection includes not just "Little Women," but also its two sequels.

"Little Women" introduces us to the four March sisters: pretty Meg, shy Beth, aspiring artist Amy, and tomboyish Jo. In the middle of the Civil War, the girls mature and explore the world, with the help of their mischievous male neighbor Laurie. But with their new freedoms and loves come sacrifices and heartbreak as well...

At the end of the first book, "Mother Bhaer" adopted a small army of preteen boys in addition to her own sons. "Little Men" chronicles the growing pains of her boys -- some of them have been neglected, some are wild, some are nieces and "nevvies" of Jo's, and some just need the delightful chaos of a loving home.

"Jo's Boys" wraps up the trilogy in a bittersweet manner. Jo's boys (and girls) have grown up and are starting to stretch their wings away from home, and are even starting to fall in love. Some of the boys have run-ins with the law, some have trouble pursuing the girls of their dreams, and one will risk his very soul -- and his love -- for something he believes in.

With a much-beloved classic like "Little Women," it's pretty much a given that the sequels won't stack up. But "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys" are still a good mixture of humor, poignancy and "lovering." And of course, the original "Little Women" is one of the best coming-of-age novels of all time, as well as the best book that Alcott ever wrote.

Alcott had a talent for writing realistic family stories and sweet romances, without letting them get dull. And she manages to create a colorful cast, from the mischievous Laurie and rambunctious Jo, to the gentle Marmee and the meek-to-mad cast of "Jo's boys." No matter how many characters Alcott wrote, she managed to give each one a personality.

Louisa May Alcott created the lovable March family, and in the three-pack of "Little Women," "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys," we get to see three generations in action. Funny, poignant and sweet.

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Echo Park Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch mystery, Echo Park, is just about as good as it gets. I am amazed at the consistent high quality of Connelly's writing.
In 1993, Connelly was assigned the case of Marie Gesto, a young lady who disappeared on her way to a riding stable. Her body was never found, no suspect was ever identified, and the unsolved case continues to haunt Bosch (an LAPD detective now working in their Open-Unsolved Unit). In 2006, Raynard Waits is driving a van in Echo Park at 2:00 AM when he is stopped by the LAPD. Trash bags are discovered in his van that contain the body parts of two women. In an effort to avoid the death penalty, Waits wants to make a deal and confess to the murders of nine other individuals--including Marie Gesto. But Bosch isn't convinced that Waits murdered Gesto and things go terribly awry.
Politics play a big role in Echo Park. Richard "Ricochet" O'Shea is a prosecutor running for district attorney. He's trying to use the Waits' case as a publicity stunt. When things go bad, he tries to blame the LAPD. The now retired assistant police commissioner and Bosch nemesis, Irvin Irving, is running for city council. He blames Bosch for his forced retirement and takes potshots at him in the press. Anytime politicians get involved, there seem to be bribes, cover-ups, blaming, and sacrifices that will benefit themselves.

In Echo Park, FBI agent Rachel Walling (of The Poet and The Narrows) returns. Although not part of the official investigation, Walling still offers her expertise as a former psychological profiler. She also helps to keep Bosch on an even keel and provides a romantic twist.
My only criticism of Echo Park is that the political angle plays such a prominent part in this book, but then fizzles at the end. We never learn if O'Shea and Irving are elected to higher office, or not. Otherwise, I would have given Echo Park five stars.


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Captivity Review

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(More customer reviews)Debbie Lee Wesselmann provides a spell binding novel which sheds light on the precarious plight of chimpanzees which are raised in captivity and after having served the purpose of humans their lives are left in limbo. In a world concerned with saving our planet by going green, decreasing carbon dioxide emissions from gas-guzzling automobiles to keep our air cleaner and prevent global warming from destroying everything - here is another cause which deserves our attention and support with economic resources. The book is written with sensitivity, compassion, and knowledge about the lives of chimpanzees in captivity. It is a superbly written highly original novel which combines adventure, romance, and human interest, maintaining the reader's attention from start to finish.
Essentially, the book is about the scientist, Dr. Dana Armstrong, Director of the South Carolina Primate Project and her attempts to keep afloat the sanctuary which serves as home to chimpanzees who have been discarded after being involuntary participants in scientific experiments at labs or residents at zoos which have closed. The major problem she is facing is how to convince the University president and a major donor that her facility is a safe place for the animals and is not a threat to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there was a break-in at the sanctuary and the animals were freed because someone obtained a key and simply opened up the cages, letting the animals roam about the offices, sanctuary and beyond, into the nearby family neighborhood.
Dana, Andy, the vet for the animals, Mary one of the research associates and graduate students helped round up the missing animals - all except one - the most dangerous, named Benji. Benji had been owned by a cruel animal trainer and had unpredicatable behavior as a result. Dana had to call the local sheriff to help find him and she had to admit Benji could be dangerous. Sadly, when Benji was found - he was dead, having been hit by a car. It caused Dana much grief because it reminded her of Annie, a chimp with whom she was raised as a child. The chimp came into their household as an experiment by her psychologist father, who wanted it treated as a family member. Annie was taken away after an unfortunate incident occurred to Dana. Annie was supposed to have gone to a lab for experiments but the trail as to what really happened to her led to a dead-end. No one knows whether Annie was alive or dead. No one knows what kind of experiments were performed on Annie. This incident haunted Dana ...
Unexpectedly, a free lance reporter Sam Wendt entered Dana's life. He threw her world upside down. Initially, he asked questions about the experiment led by her father, regarding teaching chimps the use of language. Later, after learning about the break-in and delving deeply into the politics of animal research and competition for funding, Sam became a willing accomplice in her quest to save the chimps and discover who was behind this disastrous event. The author deftly connects a haunting past event in Dana's life to her present predicament, where her qualifications to lead and direct this sanctuary are being seriously questioned. The reader will learn much about the sad circumstances which surround the lives of these most endearing animals, chimpanzees. Most readers will empathize with their condition and be hooked on this story where the goal is to keep this non-threatening primate sanctuary thriving and maintain the safety of its residents. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]


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War Stories of the Battle of the Bulge Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael Green and James D. Brown have put together a fascinating book titled "War Stories of the Battle of the Bulge." If you are looking for a definitive book on The Battle of the Bulge this is not it. If you want a powerful account of the battle from the mouths of those who were there, this is it. The authors do a great job of telling the the story with first-person accounts from the American soldiers, both officers and enlisted. Their stories are spellbinding. You will keep turning the pages.
The book is divided into four sections: The Germans Attack, The Americans Fight Back, Christmas in the Ardennes, and Closing the Gap. The book's structure follows the ebb and flow of the battle. The source material is drawn for the 'Bulge Bugle", the quarterly newsletter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge Association, first person accounts from members of the association, and the files of the U.S. Army Military Historical Institute. We learn that the failure of higher command to realize this area of the Ardennes (Losheim Gap) had three times previously in history been used as an attack route. The fact it was so poorly defended is nearly criminal.
The cold weather of the battle was mentioned by almost everyone in their accounts. Cold, tired, miserable, under equipped, were comments included in almost every story. I knew the 106th Infantry Division had lost two regiments, but had not realized they had over 6,500 taken POWs during the battle. We are reminded again and again that the individual heroism of the soldier made the difference over the course of the battle.
One of my favorite stories was found from pages 40 - 72 "Charles Haug, B Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division". It was from the files of the U.S. Army Military Historical Institute. The story is a breath taking account of being pushed back by the Germans. James A. Steinhaufel of C Company, 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division tells the tale of his units chilling encounter with the much feared German Tiger Tank. His story leaves you feeling you were there.
I highly recommend the book. It is one you will want to read from cover to cover. The stories are generally only a few pages long. This would be a excellent resource for any public library to add to its collection. It is also a great way to get a feel for what you father or grand father went through if he was one of the men that confronted the 250,000 German soldiers as they made their last major attack against the Allied Forces. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler May 2010.

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The powerful German counteroffensive operation codenamed "Wacht am Rhein" (Watch on the Rhine) launched against the American First Army in the early morning hours of December 16, 1944, would result in the greatest single extended land battle of World War II. To most Americans, the fierce series of battles fought in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg that winter is better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Here are the first-person stories of the American soldiers who repelled the powerful German onslaught that had threatened to turn the tide of battle in Western Europe during World War II.

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Vice: One Cop's Story of Patrolling America's Most Dangerous City Review

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(More customer reviews)A nice easy read. Some of the issues discussed in the book remind me of some of the problems in the city where I patrol.

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9 square miles. 10,000 criminals. 130 cops. A riveting memoir by Baker, California's most-decorated police officer Compton: the most violent and crime-ridden city in America. What had been a semi-rural suburb of Los Angeles in the 1950s became a battleground for the Black Panthers and Malcolm X Foundation, the home of the Crips and Bloods and the first Hispanic gangs, and the cradle of gangster rap. At the center of it, trying to maintain order was the Compton Police Department, never more than 130-strong, and facing an army of criminals that numbered over 10,000. At any given time, fully one-tenth of Compton's population was in prison, yet this tidal wave of crime was held back by the thinnest line of the law—the Compton Police. John R. Baker was raised in Compton, eventually becoming the city's most decorated officer involved in some of its most notorious, horrifying and scandalous criminal cases. Baker's account of Compton from 1950 to 2001 is one of the most powerful and compelling cop memoirs ever written—an intensely human account of sacrifice and public service, and the price the men and women of the Compton Police Department paid to preserve their city.

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Human Parts (Verba Mundi,) Review

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(More customer reviews)Most Americans look at Israel and see one thing - a conflict with the Palestinians. That is a major issue, to be sure, but Orly Castel Bloom takes a deeper look - at the economy, the social strata and the racism that permeates this country on every level - identifying her characters as humans struck by the inadequacies of daily life - just like the rest of us. She is fiercely critical of Israeli culture, but holds on to an affinity and sympathy for her country at the same time. Orly castel-bloom is a phenomenal writer and this book is simply superb.

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Bordeaux Review

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(More customer reviews)Have you seen the film Memento? Bordeaux (published earlier in Britain as The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce: A Novel in Four Vintages) doesn't revolve around someone afflicted with short-term memory loss, but it does employ a reverse storytelling technique and isn't jolly. Life sucked for Leonard in the movie; and despite his cheeriness about feeling life will turn out well, Wilberforce, the novel's off-kilter narrator, displays the depths of his own "loserness" upfront in act or "vintage" number one.
Paul Torday's second novel -- his first was, of course, the charmingly quirky Salmon Fishing in the Yemen -- kicks off in 2006 and works back, in four "vintages," to 2002. Basically, Wilberforce (in normal chronology) degenerates from a socially challenged workaholic software company owner who avoids alcohol to a man drinking himself to death on multiple bottles of select but questionable vintage a day. He accomplishes this in those few years by finding his way to Francis Black's not exactly prospering wine shop, Caerlyon Hall, one evening after work. Gradually he becomes a regular there and even acquires a few other friends, including a woman, Catherine, he gradually desires to marry, and a man who stands in his way. Under Francis' tutelage, Wilberforce becomes a wine connoisseur of sorts, and then Francis, an older man in poor health, prevails upon Wilberforce to take on responsibility for his considerable, debt-ridden wine cellar when the time comes. Why would Wilberforce take on such a life-altering commitment? Therein lies the crux of the matter....
Torday scored winningly with his satire, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Alfred, luckless sod he was in many ways, grew in awareness and love during his incredible adventure. Wilberforce, however, is no Alfred. He -- and I give nothing away that isn't made plain in the first section of the book -- is a doomed man. Bordeaux deals with themes of inevitability: Is our genetic inheritance insurmountable? Are we but the puppets of fate? Both Alfred and Wilberforce are diffident, socially handicapped men, but Torday doesn't stuff Alfred into a funnel that leads only to the refuse pile; Wilberforce he does.
Reading this novel could appear a thankless endeavor at times: why bother with a story being told so that each revelation unfolds before its underpinnings? But, as in the acclaimed Memento, Torday's exercise in backward story structure pays off. His character study feeds the curiosity about how and why Wilberforce reaches each stage of his undoing. Torday, in effect, puts the rind peels back on the orange, until on the last page Wilberforce is a man who can say in optimistic sincerity that he thinks life will turn out well for him.
Still, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was the more enjoyable book of the two. Torday's third novel, The Girl on the Landing, is expected in early 2009. I await it with cautious eagerness, hoping for continued ingeniousness and less morbidity than displayed in Bordeaux.

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City of Bones (Harry Bosch) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have heard lots of good comments about the Harry Bosch novels and I was not disappointed with this seventh book of the series. Bosch is a hard boiled homocide detective in the Hollywood division of the LAPD who gets a call that a dog has discovered a human bone. The investigation uncovers a 20 year old murder of a 12 year-old boy who was the victim of child abuse. As the case proceeds, Bosch meets and becomes involved with a rookie cop named Julia Brasher, who has an idealistic view of police work.
Some information leaks and false clues initially sidetrack the investigation but slowly the victim is identified and his short and tortured life revealed. Connelly draws his characters with fine strokes and his development of the details of the police procedures which are key to solving cases was really fascinating to me. Understanding the murder book, how warrants were drawn up and served, and details behind the forensic investigation added to my enjoyment of the story.
False directions provide intrigue but I was a little disappointed with the unsatisfying way the murderer was revealed and dealt with.
All in all though, a fast paced (I read it in one 24 hour period), and very enjoyable read.

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Degree of Guilt/The Final Judgement Review

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(More customer reviews)I've read both books included here, The Final Judgment and Degree of Guilt. Both books are good, entertaining, legal thrillers. Patterson is a good author (although a bit liberal for my tastes), and I've enjoyed all his books.
But I can't understand the reason behind this two volume selection. Why is "Final Judgment" included. This was just released recently as the CAROLINE MASTERS paperback which was relased before that as FINAL JUDGMENT. It all seems deceptive to me. Patterson could have chosen another novel to include that wasn't already the subject of a con job to the public. How many ways can one book be marketed. First they change its title, then they release it in different form with the original title... I am losing respect for Patterson because of this deceiptful marketing.

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The Notebook Review

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(More customer reviews)Nicholas Sparks has become famous for writing the sweet and tender love story that appeals to the romantic in all of us. He doesn't disappoint with "The Notebook" as he weaves the tale of two teenagers, Noah and Allie, who meet one fateful summer and fall in love. Since the course of true love is never smooth, it should come as no surprise that Allie's parents do not approve of her relationship with Noah. He does not have the education, money, or social prominence they wish for their daughter. Allie and her parents move away and Noah writes to her for years, but after never receiving an answer gives up. WWII comes, lives change, but one thing remains constant---neither Allie nor Noah can forget the other. As Noah's friend Gus tells him, first love changes your life forever and no matter what else happens in your life, the memory of it stays with you. And so it is that fourteen years later and three weeks before her wedding, Allie finds herself driving to New Bern to find Noah for reasons she herself does not fully understand. Their reunion proves once again that they are true soulmates, but it that enough? Can Allie forsake the "perfect mate" who has not only her love but also the approval of her parents? Can she walk out on Noah for a second time? Will Noah let her go? The story then skips to the nursing home where an 80-year old Noah resides and spends his time reading poetry to his fellow residents. But down the hall is a very special woman. The reader will be overcome with emotion as this relationship unfolds and the missing pieces of Noah and Allie's story are revealed in the notebook he carries with him. Intensely romantic and a tribute to the power of true love, "The Notebook" will leave you emotionally spent and thankful to be so.

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Collected Fiction Of William Hope Hodgson Volume 5: The Dream Of X & Other Fantastic Visions (v. 5) Review

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(More customer reviews)I goofed and paid 90.00 for this book last week. The book is in my possesion, but Night Shade books JUST released it, so don't pay anything over $35.00. The book is WELL WORTH the price. It has a minor printing error and is scheduled to be corrected soon with a new printing. This might be worth the investment for collectors of missprinted books. The error is negligible and NIGHT SHADE has a corrected version of the story in PDF form on their website.

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Tales of the Seven Seas: The Escapades of Captain Dynamite Johnny O'Brien Review

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(More customer reviews)Dennis Powers has reinvigorated the fascinating journey of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien as he progressed from lowly seaman to one of the most colorful captains of his era. Truly a MUST READ for all those who love reading true life sea stories.

from: Jim Kennard - shipwreck explorer and discoverer of British warship HMS Ontario


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Screenshot Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an interesting new take on the use of the Internet for evil -
pay-per-view murder. A brilliant and rich entrepreneur calling himself
Screenshot sets up assassinations using remote-controlled weapons,
and his targets are people we'd all like to see dead, like terrorists
and skinheads. He then charges admission to see it happen, live on
your computer. The only way to track him through the veil of Internet
anonymity are the theories of a crazy scientist, and the only people
who believe him are a disgruntled FBI computer geek and an
investigative reporter.
These two team with the scientist, and are soon targets of Screenshot
and wanted by the FBI as suspects themselves. The technology sounds
plausible, and the weapons are really weird, including a liquid taser
called the Pediphryer, used on, you guessed it, a pedophile. The story
moves rapidly, especially when the good guys become the targets,
running from the FBI while trying to avoid Screenshot's new weapon
aimed at them. And the ending is a table-turner.
I'd recommend it, especially if you like techno-thrillers.


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Moscow Sting: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has many merits but also distinct limitations. All in all, it is worth reading and I recommend it,, albeit with reservations. Its merits are a strong and convincing set up: the real-world revival of Russia as a government-led mob force. The Western spy agencies and Haliburton-type firms are weaving their many wiles to locate a key mole who is close to Putin and turn him. He is known only to our heroine, an ex-Russian spy whose British spy husband was offed and is in hiding. When her location is discovered it's away to the US and grillings, bluffs and background game-playing by unpleasant Brit spylord and the CIA with checkbook and threats aplenty. Anna, the heroine, is resourceful and smart and makes for a sympathetic character as she tries to protect her infant son from the bullying and blackmail and play her card as to who "Mikhail" is - the mole. The plot is suitably devious and the writing smooth.
The weakness of the book is that Anna is really the only character as contrasted with stereotype or cipher. Mikhail appears for just a few pages (!!!) and we never get to hear him, understand him or see him as real. Central characters are buffoon exaggerations, especially the over the top imitation of a rich Texan cowboy who is the motivator of the entire plot, the potentially interesting imitation of a Le Carre Brit mastermind with the emotions of a hyena, and the lost and despondent field agent betrayed and forlorn and brought in mainly for the obligatory and dull sex routine. There's no life or dimensionality in the characters, except for Anna.

The author has a strong reputation as a journalist/observer and the book has the strengths of, say, The Economist magazine's articulation, clarity and measured pacing. It lacks, though, color and "voice." It doesn't have drive and that vividness of scene and emotion that raises the best political/spy thrillers above the mechanics of the plot.
I give this four stars for its merits in exposition. It is certainly well done within its limits. I would rate it two stars for its pedestrian characterization. Parts of it are strongly reminiscent of Le Carre's Russia House - the thrust and parrying of the genteel interrogations and the double dealing and cynical betrayals, especially of Anna's agent husband that caused his death. That is the subject of the author's first book, which got excellent reviews. But there's a difference between a well-told story, which this is, and the richness of Le Carre (or the great Len Deighton).
If I were to give this novel to a friend, it would be with a statement like "Try this, you may like it" not "This is something you really have to read."

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Combat Reporter: Don Whitehead's World War II Diary And Memoirs Review

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(More customer reviews)Edited by University of Tennessee-Knoxville teacher John B. Romeiser, Combat Reporter: Don Whitehead's World War II Diary and Memoirs is the true story of two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Don Whitehead, who served the Associated Press in 1942 by covering the Allied drive against Erwin Rommel's tanks in North Africa, in Whitehead's own words. Collecting and organizing Whitehead's personal journal and unfinished memoir with the rare editor's note in brackets for clarity, Combat Reporter covers events that Whitehead witnessed from 1942-1943 in Cairo, Libya, Tunisia, and Sicily. Combat Reporter offers an evenhanded, front-lines view of the European Theater and an unforgettable self-portrait of a one-of-a-kind reporter. A foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Atkinson and an afterword by Whitehead's colleague Command Sergeant Major Benjamin Franklin (U.S. Army, Ret.) round out this highly recommended memoir.

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No one bore witness better than Don Whitehead . . . this volume, deftly combining his diary and a previously unpublished memoir, brings Whitehead and his reporting back to life, and 21st-century readers are the richer for it.-from the Foreword, by Rick AtkinsonWinner of two Pulitzer Prizes, Don Whitehead is one of the legendary reporters of World War II. For the Associated Press he covered almost every important Allied invasion and campaign in Europe-from North Africa to landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and Normandy, and to the drive into Germany. His dispatches, published in the recent Beachhead Don, are treasures of wartime journalism.From the fall of September 1942, as a freshly minted A.P. journalist in New York, to the spring of 1943 as Allied tanks closed in on the Germans in Tunisia, Whitehead kept a diary of his experiences as a rookie combat reporter. The diary stops in 1943, and it has remained unpublished until now. Back home later, Whitehead started, but never finished, a memoir of his extraordinary life in combat.John Romeiser has woven both the North African diary and Whitehead's memoir of the subsequent landings in Sicily into a vivid, unvarnished, and completely riveting story of eight months during some of the most brutal combat of the war. Here, Whitehead captures the fierce fighting in the African desert and Sicilian mountains, as well as rare insights into the daily grind of reporting from a war zone, where tedium alternated with terror. In the tradition of cartoonist Bill Mauldin's memoir Up Front, Don Whitehead's powerful self-portrait is destined to become an American classic.

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The God of War Review

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(More customer reviews)Chris Stewart has produced a tale that is almost absurd, but eminently readable. It rips along with the pace of jet fighter, and gives Stewart the chance to sound forth on the all technical bits of an ultimate military aircraft.
What happens? Well, it's the Paris Air Show and a new super-stealthy jet fighter is ready for its display. Trouble is, a rogue pilot has stolen it. Thank goodness we have Major Jesse James to the rescue, because the President is there and he's not at all happy. But who's behind all this? Renegade Muslims or the Chinese, perhaps? Well, the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you amused and it would be a great read on a long flight (provided you don't look out of the window too often - you might see the stolen F-38 alongside). Much of the action takes place in France and the setting is totally unconvincing. I know France well and these descriptions feel like he Googled 'Paris' and then got on with the story. It doesn't matter. This is a pretty hot page-turner and while second division compared with the best thriller writers, is definitely worth a read.

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It's meant to be the triumphant debut of the Ares, a U.S. super- jet named after the Greek God of war. With its ultra powerful laser and ability to easily outmaneouver anything else in the sky, the Ares opens a new era in warfare. But when it is stolen before of a crowd of international dignitaries, the President and his defence staff must use outdated technology to try to stop their creation from sparking a war between civilizations.It's up to Colonel "Jesse" James to save the world from impending doom. But, the obstacles will be numerous. He faces suspicion from the President's chief advisor, a romantic interest with unknown allegiances, and a terror plot that seems too obvious to be true. In his fourth novel, Stewart is in top form- fusing a high octane plot with hair raising flight scenes drawn from his career as a fighter pilot.

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Under the Dome: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)A small New England town is suddenly, inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world, trapping a large cast of characters inside (or outside) a huge, clear dome. As the emergency escalates, various heroes (and villains) emerge to play a part in the drama. What is the dome? Why is it there? Will the town survive? This is the premise of Stephen King's big, long, thoroughly fascinating new novel.
King has rarely written a book as ambitious as this. As I was reading, I was constantly wondering about the motives behind the deceptively simple story. As with the best of horror and science fiction, it isn't just about a monster on the rampage. What clearly interests King--and us, the readers--is the reaction of the "ordinary" people of Chester's Mill, Maine, who are placed in this extraordinary situation. In the struggles of these heroes, villains, lovers, and fools, we can all see ourselves. And that is the mark of a great work of art, isn't it?
I've been reading Stephen King for 35 years now--I read his first 3 novels in college--and I've always been impressed by his work. But UNDER THE DOME is in a small group of King stories that go far beyond merely being entertaining fiction. This novel will inevitably be compared to The Stand because it deals with the horrors of the world around us. Forget ghosts and vampires and space aliens--there's nothing as horrifying as what humans are capable of doing to one another. Stephen King knows that: it's the reason his stories are so effective. In his long, distinguished career, he's rarely been as effective--or as entertaining--as he is here. UNDER THE DOME is a fast-paced modern horror story, and it's also an amazingly perceptive modern novel. Highly recommended.

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