At-the-market

As a former paratrooper, and having several uncles and older cousins who served in airborne units in World War II, I can only say that Mr. Burgett captures the essentials of airborne combat in WWII. One of my uncles had great difficulty reading this book. "It brought back too many memories". Mr. Burgett's earlier book, "Currahee", brought the reader to England prior to the NOrmandy invasion, and then to Normandy with all the confusion, savage combat and gallows humor found in line outfits. This volume continues in that line, and complements greatly works like "A Time For Trumpets" and Toland's "Battle". The book offers no political insights, second guessing of commanders. It offers the insight and observations of a young American GI fighting far away from home, watching friends die, and wondering who was next. A fine job!

"Seven Roads to Hell" refers to the seven key roads coming out of Bastogne, Belgium. This confluence of roads was a pivotal logistic point as armies could then move men and materials about the area. Understanding this, and seeing its declining position in the war, the Nazis were determined to take the road. Having difficulty holding in the onrush, the US Army sends the 101st Airborne to hold the area. This narrative discusses the Screaming Eagles part in the Battle of the Bulge.

As mentioned before, this is a narrative. Donald Burgett was a private with the 101st during World War II and wrote his memories down soon after the war. Since this is not a diary, he establishes a flow and understanding of what is going on in the area. The narrative is very engaging.

Having been to visit the battle site as well as read other books and seen movies about the battle, I always wondered why the American soldiers were not properly outfitted to fight a prolonged engagement in the snow. From this narrative, I learned that although they were short of some gear, the soldiers did have winter gear but were told to leave it behind because it would only slow them down.

The soldier's perspective makes for a very good reading of the battle and its conditions. I would recommend this to any fan of military history.

If you are looking for a personal account of the siege of Bastogne during the battle of the bulge and the tremendous feat of the 101 Screaming Eagles or are just looking for a great non fiction thriller then get this book. Burgett was a member of the 506th and fought in some of the most bloody battles around Bastogne. But besides the awesome fighting sequences he describes the misery of the foxhole, freezing temps and patrols. But look for the cheap 5 dollar version of the books because it is the same thing including the pics. And if you like this then go back to the start and read Burgetts Curahee...an awesome account of his part in the airdrops during Normandy, also available in the cheap version...

I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend and while it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, it was still very good reading. If you like to read books on relationships between mother and daughter and sisters, this is a good book to pick up. There is Margaret, the mother who has discovered new-found freedom at the age of 48 (which is very young!), her two daughters, Daisy and Dale. Daisy, pregnant with her third child, goes through a divorce that literally shakes her world upside down. Dale, in the throes of first true love, makes a tenative step into making a committment ... though she is afraid that her mother and sister's divorces may cause her to go down the same stumbling road later on in life.

It is a wonderfully written book full of insightful thoughts and discoveries. Margaret discovers that she could no longer be like the woman she was in Liberty, Iowa, where she dispensed free advice along with cookies and milk. Now, she's preserving the self she has disovered in the year since her divorce and move to Vancouver, Canada. She really embodies the joy and freedom of being one's own self, not responsible to any one else. It's a grand feeling ... it's something that I've discovered through my own divorce. The only difference is, Margaret feels no need to get married again, whereas I did get married.

Daisy is the one character that has come a long ways since the beginning of the book. Her trials and tribulations as a young and single mother are too vividly descriptive and true. But she comes through it and discovers a whole new personality that she didn't have before. She really gave new meaning to the word "sacrifice." Out of all the characters, she is my favorite.

Dale ~~ she is in the midst of the passionate throes of true love and at the same time, she's afraid to make a committment to her lover, Hank, because she's afraid she's doomed to repeat her mother and sister's mistake. Then she realizes that letting go of her fear and stepping through the changes in life really enhances her love.

This is an unique book ~~ one for mothers and daughters to share. I enjoyed it though it wasn't what I quite expected. However, I read it and wouldn't put it down till the last page was turned. I don't think others will regret reading it too.

2-15-02

This story is about three women, a mother and her two daughters, at crisis points in their lives. There's the mother, aging and divorced, who turns from dumpy duckling into a swan; a daughter, also newly divorced, struggling to raise her children alone; and the second daughter engaged in an all-absorbing love affair.

Thayer's books are always entertaining and at the same time they portray relationships and everyday problems through characters that seem like your next-door neighbors. Here's a slice of typical contemporary lives, full of insight into situations and people.

I finished reading Three Women this morning and felt obliged to write my review right away.
This novel is written for women and many will read it and be able to identify with the trials of marriage, child rearing, broken relationships and the mental suffering and unhappiness we all go through.
Centered around the Wallace family, we are introduced to Margaret, the mother who in her late forties has come to grips with the person she wants to be, and makes herself through lots of courage, into that very person. We meet Daisy the housewife and her older daughter whose life is on the verge of collapse when her career-oriented husband leaves her for a more sophisticated woman as she tries to fend for herself with two young children and a baby on the way. Then we are led into the life of Dale a teacher......Margaret's younger daughter who is unmarried so far but very much in love with a fellow-teacher and so afraid of being burnt as she watches on at her sister's fate.
This is a good book for all women regardless of age, as in each of these three women, there is something we can all take note of, and learn from their experiences. I recommend this as a nice Mother's Day gift.

Nutface
April 5th, 2002

Well, it was a very OLD edition of the memory book, cira 1976. But back in 1976 I did memorize the ENTIRE BRI bar exam course book, a huge outline of the law. No kidding, I could recite the entire outline, using a slight modification of Harry Lorraine's techniques. As a fellow law student said while I was giving a demonstration, "it's a trick!" Exactly, it is a trick. Memorizing doesn't help you UNDERSTAND what you are reciting. But you won't forget it, short term. The other caveat is, having memorized it, you do have to PRACTICE recalling it. Lorraine's techniques, at least circa 1976, didn't result in immediate storage into long-term memory. That requires recalling the information repeatedly. Also, the techniques themselves require practice, just as developing any other skill does. The work is only justified if you have a need to memorize a little data often, or a lot of data at least occasionally.

It's a fantastic book that will help you instantly to memorize all 50 states in alphabetical order or any number of items on a shopping list (even two days later). But be prepared to spend some time and effort until you will be able to make the system work for you for some "real-life" challenges like giving a speech, improving reading abilities, or memorize difficult vocabularies of a foreign language. If you make the decision to do so, the techniques described will add a lot of value in all areas of your life, especially for those who suffer from a poor memory. The text and the dialogues are written nicely, so it is actually fun to read. Also, the chapters are categorized into specific abilities, like name remembering, again, speeches, etc., which makes it easy to pick your own selection without reading the entire book.

This book definately requires work. It is a "How To" guide which will only be effective if the reader is committed to putting in the work of practicing the techniques explained. I think one of the most interesting aspects of this is that good memory, like many other things, can be a LEARNED skill.
I found this book after searching specifically for a helpful one to improve my poor memory. In particular, I went from being a very good law student who was a capable researcher and writer and preformed well on essay exams in school, and even won a competitive moot court competition based on advocacy skills, to a JD who failed the BAR Exam multiple times due to an inability to remember details and jargon. After time with every legal study aid possible, I turned to resources to improve my memory. While I unfortunately can't yet say I have passed the BAR exam, I can say that I have noticed a significant improvement in my relationship with my husband and others as I have become more attentinve to remembering details and with the techniques in this book thus have become a more dependable person. In the past when he or anyone else asked me to do things, though I was well intentioned and sincere in my "Yes", I had a serious problem with follow up due to inattentiveness and poor memory skills. This book was most helpful as an aid to overcoming those limitations and assisited me in becoming a more responsible and less absentminded irritating person to be around.
As a serious, logical, pragmatic person, this book was helpful in specificallly giving me the prompt to think of silly associations with the specific intent of remembering items. That would be something I wouldn't have ever NATURALLY done on my own! In discussing it with others I have found that many people ALREADY utilize many of the memory techniques described, and they were surprised these were new to me. This book is most helpful for those of us who just haven't gotton into those habits. As someone who NEVER could even remember any of those numonics throughout school it was a relief to discover that there are other techniques which are more effective for me. The book also discusses how memory and intelligence are distinct, and that the problem of poor memory, and in particular absentmindedness is one of not being fully consious in the moment. It is helpful in identifying the source of many memory problems is simply not being in the habit of focusing on the mundane with full attention. Making that ASSUMPTION that something is "simple" and "easy" and therefore doesn't require much time and attention is a trap I more consiously avoid after employing the techniques of this book. The disctinction between intellegence and memory is one which I feel is helpful as it validates those of us who have great capacity to understand things easily, but little capacity to recall. That distinction made me as reader feel more empowered to use memory as a TOOL, and I believe offers needed encouragement to anyone who has struggled in either work, school or their personal life due to poor memory skills.

In this sequel to ALL THE RIGHT REASONS, Ms. Sims really outdid herself. Toni and Chuck proved that age only makes the loving better, and they do with style. Ms. Sims smoothly brought us up to date on Toni, Chuck, Bree, and Georgie. With the addition of new characters like the beautiful, yet smart Dr. Solange Dupree and the handsome, mysteriously sexy and disappearing(you'll have to read the book to get that) Rupert Giles along with a handsome villain Yusef, and his beautiful wife Salah. This story has everything you look for in romantic suspense, plenty of romance with love scenes and suspense that will both have you waiting to exhale.

The plot and storyline is so well written that in the end I was feeling sorry for Yusef and Salah and wishing them a happy ending. Maybe Ms. Sims will see fit to give them at least an honourable mention in the next installment, hint hint (I certainly hope there is one in the making). :-)

Be sure if you are one of the few who haven't read ALL THE RIGHT REASONS to pick it up along with A SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE and get caught up in a ride you will not want to end.

Another good read by this author is THE KEYS TO MY HEART in the A VERY SPECIAL LOVE anthology.

Janice Sims has written a story of love, family togetherness, and kidnapping underscored with action and a subplot involving mysticism surrounding seven fertility gods and goddesses. In A Second Chance at Love, the author's writing is articulate, sensitive, and tender. In this sequel to All the Right Reasons, Sims chronicles the lives of main characters Toni Shaw and Charles "Chuck" Edward Waters, along with their twin daughters Georgie and Bree and their significant others. The story unfolds in the cities of New Orleans, Boston, and San Francisco and in several locations in Africa. Before her transformation from social activist to single mother of twin daughters, she now is , at fiftysomething, Toni Shaw the noted author. She had gotten pregnant her freshman year at Berkeley and given birth to Georgie and Bree, who are an attorney and actress, respectively. The twin sisters are 33 years-old. Chuck abandoned Toni when she was pregnant because of his fear of reprisal from his elitist parents. Now, three decades-plus later, he is back in Toni's life, wooing her as he'd more relentlessly done in their youth. He's a changed man after realizing some years ago the error of his ways. He's out to prove to Toni he's changed. But can Toni believe him? For one thing, Toni is afraid of what her family and friends will think of her if she allows Chuck to steal her heart once again, especially after vowing to stay away from Chuck under all circumstances. Trust, of course, is at the core of her wavering, and she wonders if she should dare trust him after the callous manner in which he behaved years ago. As they are gradually mending bridges that separate them, Toni finds herself succumbing to his charm until he pops the question: "Will you marry me?" Toni throws herself into her work and flees to research who's behind stealing the fertility gods and goddesses in different locations around the world. Her first stopover is in Miami and eventually to Africa. Chuck knows she is trying to avoid giving him an answer. So the question has him in a quandary thinking, should he follow her or wait for her to return to his arms? Then Toni is notified that Bree has been kidnapped on location where she is shooting a film. How the villains associate Toni and Bree is somewhat of a stretch of plausibility. Nonetheless, at this point, everything else takes a back burner. However, at the same time, the author speeds up the action. However, readers won't get the answer to Chuck's question, or who kidnapped Bree, or the answer to the disappearing fertility dolls until the climatic moments when all answers are provided and wrapped up into a tidy package. In A Second Chance at Love, Janice Sims writes with passionate momentum. (From reviewer, Emma J. Wisdom of the Chattanooga Courier. September 10, 2001. Pages 3, 5.

A Second Chance at Love (Arabesque)by Janice Sims Originally I bought this novel because it had an attractive mature couple on the cover. The back cover said. . "fifty-something and fabulous. . ." I read the novel over a weekend because it was so beautifully written and held my attention from the moment I started to read it. The heroine Toni Shaw an accomplished author is a divorced single parent with grown twin daughters. Her ex-husband Charles Waters, father of the twins Georgie and Bree, has re-entered Toni's life and wants a chance to regain her love. But Toni is already in a comfortable relationship with Spencer Taylor. And, as Toni reminds Charles, the past is not so easily forgotten. Charles is determined not to make the same mistake he made many years ago, by letting Toni out of his life. However he finds his hands are tied when she decides to follow her theory behind the recent theft of a fertility goddess. The search for truth and the statutes takes Toni from New Orleans to her final destination, Africa. A Second Chance At Love whisks its readers on a journey of pure romantic adventure to exotic locales with unfamiliar customs and a kidnapping with a breathtaking rescue. (I loved that one of the kidnappers starts to 'moon' over the kidnapee). Romance, intrigue and suspense is everywhere, from the twins and their mates to Dr. Solange Dupree and handsome, mysterious Rupert Giles. I have read this novel several times and still love it. Vannie(~.~)

They Cage the Animals at Night is a terrific and emotionalstory about Jennings Michael Burch, a young boy who learned to survivein a cold, frightening world. His mother was too sick to care for him and left him in a series of orphanages and institutions. Life in these orphanages was brutal, punishments were cruel, rules were strict, and Jennings was unable to do anything about it. He couldn't rely on family and friends because they all abandoned him in times that he really needed them. A tattered stuffed dog was the only friend that stayed with him through it all and the only thing he could count on in his lost childhood. This is the best book I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. When it was time to go to sleep, I would get a flashlight and sit in the dark for hours and read this book. I have never read a sadder story. The fact that this all happened to the author makes me realize just how lucky I actually am to have family, friends, home, and money. I really felt sorry for Jennings. He was a boy about my age who doesn't have all that I have. The story was based on sadness, love, survival, family, and friends. I would recommend this to anyone of any age who likes a powerful, sad story or who wants to be moved and touched. My entire family has either read it or wants to read it. Everyone I know that read it has felt the same way that I do about it.

I finished this book at one sitting because I could not put it down. It was one of the most touching stories I ever read. It tells the story of a little boy named Jennings. His mother has health problems, so he and his brothers spend much of their young lives in orphanages and foster homes. Jennings is seperated from his mom and his brothers, and sent to cold institutions that are often run by unfeeling administrators who dole out painful and humiliating punishments for small, insignificant offenses such as wetting the bed. He is lent out to foster homes where he is ignored, beaten, and otherwise mistreated. All this moving around causes him to fall behind in his schooling. Because of this, his fellow students and even his teachers mock and deride him, telling him he is stupid. What little time he does spend at home is disrupted by quarreling older brothers, a sick mother, a permanently hospitalized brother, a couple of drunken brothers, and a constant lack of money. And even with all he went through, he didn't give up. The book is very well written, and will touch the heart of anyone who loves children. I think that everone should read this inspiring true story.

This powerful and moving story is different from so many other books out there about emotional abuse and dysfunction. If you've never been the victim of horrible parents, you might have trouble believing some of the things that happen in this book, but take it from someone whose been there--it is real and very frightening.

Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

I am an avid student of history, especially military history. I have read literally hundreds of books about WWII. This is without a doubt the best account of what war at the level of the infantryman is like. Mr. Megellas fought with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division from Anzio to Holland to The Ardennes (Bulge) to Germany. He and his Co. H troopers were in the first wave in what many have called the second Omaha beach; the epic crossing of the Waal River in Nijmegen, Holland to capture the massive railroad and highway bridges. This was actually the first crossing of the Rhine River by an allied unit. It was arguably the greatest feat of arms in WWII. The accounts of Mr. Megellas and his men tell this story better than any I've read. They literally take you into the middle of the battle as they describe the crossing and the assault on the bridges.

Another very unigue part of the book is telling the story the 3rd Battlion played in the capture of Cheneux, Belgium where the 504th was the first American unit to defeat the 1st SS Panzer Division's Kampfgruppe Peiper during the Battle of the Bulge. This was the armored spearhead of the German effort in the Battle of the Bulge.

This book weaves many accounts of the men of Co. H 504th PIR together without redundancy. You not only read about the combat, but the daily struggle to survive under the harshest of elements in the winter of 1944-45 without adequate winter clothing, the constant search for food, and the lack of sleep day after day while being subjected to a deadly game where your reflexes and senses needed to be sharp just to survive.

You learn about the inner thoughts of the men. How the loss of their own brothers in other units on other battlefields affected them. You gain an understanding of how these men were closer than brothers, where each man's life depended on the courage of his fellow paratroopers.

These paratroopers were among the best fighting men that any country has ever produced. This book tells their story in a very riveting fashion with no phoney heroics. But, if you want to know what real heroism is, then read this book.

If you enjoyed T. Moffatt Burriss' "Strike and Hold" you will certainly enjoy this book. If "Saving Private Ryan" opened your eyes to the sacrifice of the WWII combat veterans, then this book is a must read.

I am an avid reader of WWII history and have been especially interested in the ETO. I have read all of the late Stephen Ambrose's WWII offerings and particularly liked the way Ambrose would quote the soldiers so that the reader could get a better understanding of what it was like to really be there. As much as I respect Ambrose's writings, he wasn't there. Maggie was. James Megellas (Maggie) tells it like it was, and pulls no punches. Through his writing, I was able to gain insight into his thoughts and emotions before, during and after battle in a way that no third party author could convey to a reader. I had the pleasure of meeting James Megellas recently in Dallas and am proud to say that I shook the hand of a true American hero. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it really like to fight in the ETO in WWII.

As one of the six Ripon College Grads who went to Ft. Knox with Jim mentioned in the book, I appreciated the Authors story. I am proud of Jim and all of his accomplishments. It was a great book, and greater story of many young men who saved the World.

Canadian Jane Bee is a housemaid in Buckingham Palace, and her friend and fellow Canadian, Robin Tukes dies under mysterious circumstances. Everyone thinks that Robin has committed suicide, except for Jane and Her Majesty the Queen. The Queen decides to have lowly housemaid, Jane keep her ears and eyes open to discover the truth about Robins's death. This of course leads to some interesting and possibly dangerous situations for our plucky heroine.

This is a delightful book. Author Benison has created an enjoyable cast of characters and an engaging mystery. Definitely in the tradition of Agatha Christie, this book will keep you entertained and turning the pages to find out what happens next.

This novel, along with its sequels, are among the very few mystery novels that I enjoy reading over and over. Perhaps this is because of the fresh, friendly voice of the narrator, Jane Bee, a smart and lively young woman from Prince Edward Island, who, while visiting Great Britain, happens into a housemaid position at Buckingham Palace, and very quickly stumbles (literally) upon a dead body, right at Her Majesty's sensible-shoe-clad feet...And perhaps it's because of the writing skills of C.C. Benison, who gives the reader the feeling of being a Palace insider, with all the good gossip, the pet names for the Royals, the unmentionable scourge of the corgis, even the secret of what the Queen actually keeps in her purse...Really excellent good fun, and I can only say that I wish that there were more of them to read and re-read and recommend.

I myself am a monarchist, so I was already excited about a book that gives Her Majesty the Queen some credit for being a human being as well as the Sovereign.
And what a fun book it is! Jane Bee is a very likeable character, which is always important. I liked the way she had to keep correcting people that she was Canadian, not American, and the no-nonsense way she handled things. I liked the behind-the-scenes look at the Palace's inner workings (whether totally true or not-don't you wonder if HM reads these??!)
All in all, the mystery was exciting and kept me guessing, the characters were very well drawn, and I can't wait to get the next one!

This book is a very well written and interesting to read. The only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5 stars was because in another book either Owen was quoted on some of the things he did and said that differ from those same things done and said in this book. A good book to read if you are in any way interested in the Korean War.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.

Lord Meren was injured in the solving of the Murder at the God's Gate, and Pharoah has granted him a leave to journey to his home in the country and recover. Of course, Meren never rests, and this trip also has another purpose. The bodies of the heretic, Ahkenaten, and his queen, Nefertiti, are to be entombed near Meren's estate until a proper place for them can be constructed. Those who were injured during Ahkenatens rule tried to interrupt his eternal rest by disturbing the bodies and looting the tombs. It is most important to King Tut that his brother and sister-in-law are properly cared for in death.

Unfortunately, Merens sister, Idut, has planned a feast for his homecoming despite his express directions to the contrary. His estate is crawling with relatives who squabble, meddle in his romantic life, and accuse him of shirking family duties. To make matters worse, Pharoah shows up, wanting to make sure the bodies are properly entombed.

As Meren is at his wits end, his cousins wife turns up dead, her body found in a granery. There is no evidence of murder, but what was the woman doing there and how did she die? She did not lack for enemies, and Meren's job is made more difficult when his family members and friends become suspects.

Lord Meren is sent home to rest but his sister arranges a family reunion instead. How many of these characters actually come from your own extended family? I recognized the majority from mine . This really makes Lord Meren into a human being rather than an historical personage. The series gets better with each book as I read them.

It just keeps getting worse and as more of the family shows up. Our hero can't get one moments peace and with about 100 different tasks to get done that could get him(and those close to him)killed, he really should strangle his sister.
In this outing, the plot within the storyline gets fleshed out more, what really happened to Queen Nefertiti and why dosen't anyone wish to talk of what they know.
Great story! Can't wait to read the rest.

Only Angela Carter could have devised the coarse golden character of Fevvers, the Cockney miracle around whom this tale spins. Girl takes wing, boy flies after, girl loses and gets wing and boy -- that's mad enough, but it gives not the least taste of the crumbled, intricate, and ultimately wonderful world of this particular circus. Carter's ability to interlace sharp doses of political and intimate realities into the mix not only teaches you lessons unaware, but opens you to a larger definition of what can be. Once upon a time, or somewhere right now, chimpanzees condescend to humans, monstrosities speak with wise prophesy, a pig manages a business better than her owner. So open up another bottle of champagne, and surrender. It will be rough, it will hurt, it will be uproarious. It will ultimately be wonderful. So is this book.

The main story here is about Fevvers, a boisterous, flamboyant, captivating swan-woman with a big heart, who is the star of an (in)famous circus...as seen through the eyes of the besotted young reporter Jack Walser.

The book is a treasure chest brimming with thoughtful, dark, emotionally tinged vignettes with multidimensional (to say the least) characters...the sad stories of several "freaks," Buffo the Great, the manic clown philosopher, kind murderesses, lechers, posers for the dead...I cannot do Carter's creativity justice, and I don't want to ruin the story.

It is a bit graphic and kinky; I wouldn't recommend it to all of my friends. But if you're at all interested in Carter, feminism, magical realism, fantasy, circuses, unconventional fiction, the late 19th century, a rollicking good read...pick the book up now!!!

"Is she fact or is she fiction?" This is the central question that drives journalist Jack Walser to join the circus in an investigative attempt to follow the source of his inquiry-the aerialiste Sophie Fevvers, renown for her uncanny ability to fly thanks to her seemingly magical endowment-a pair of wings. A fancifully imaginative tale, Nights at the Circus takes the reader on a journey from fin de ciecle London to St. Petersburg and finally to the wilderness of Siberia, as the tale grapples with such themes as love and female identity.

The story itself is altogether fun with a cast of charmingly eccentric characters ranging from the outlandish, entrepreneurial circus owner Colonel Kearney, whose companion is an oracular pig named 'Sybil,' to the character of Boffo the Clown, whose outwardly comical appearance belies the disturbing and tragic pagliaccio figure within. The most prominent aspect of the portrayals in the text, however, is found in the female characters who are presented as strong and triumphant, outshining their often emotionally infantile male cohorts. From the naïf turned musical ingenue Mignon to the main character Fevvers, whose wit and charm is balanced by her down to earth portrayal (a woman who eats!), the representation of females challenges the depiction of women by the male authorial voice that had dominated throughout the centuries. Smartly set at the tail end of the Victorian Era, the images of femininity in the text are made to break free from the restrictive representation of women in literature as either the goddess on the pedestal or the imbecilic whore.

Carter has an amazing ability to subtly incorporate philosophical and historical elements in her humor, ranging from existential musings on the nature of the self to a satiric portrayal of the impact of sensationalist journalism on proto-revolutionary peasants in turn of the century Russia. With the overarching structure of the circus setting, the tale is amusing and funny with its lively romp through the lives of its characters, while maintaining an awareness of the more darkly disturbing aspects of life and human behavior. Nights at the Circus is an enjoyable read that also delivers a more profound and intelligent assessment of society and culture.