Boston

I read this book to my 6 year old who is interested in the Revolutionary war. It was hard to find a book to tell about this period of time that was fitting for a 6 year old child. He was on the edge of his seat though most of the story and begged me to read "just one more page"

It is written in journal form so you learn about the people he meets and everything that happens first hand. At the end it tells you what happened to each person from the story...the part my son found most interesting.

This book was a good book.Even though I hate reading I still read it.This book is mainly about a boy named William Thomas Emerson.His parents die and he runs away to Boston.He gets a family at a motel and becomes a messager to find things out about the war.The only problem I thought with this book was they didn't tell about the war.This book told about what happened in the beginning,but at the end when everyone chose to leave Boston from the war Will stayed and that was it.This book had good titles for things,Interesting hook,and had a nice change of seasons and time.Overall I'd give this book an 8/10.

The Journal of William Thomas Emerson is a story of a 12-year-old orphan boy. He makes friends in Boston, Massachusetts after his family died in a tragic fire. He learns of the horrors of the war, that he never thought was true. He loses a friend or two in the struggle for American freedom and finds that he, himself is a patriot awaiting for liberty. He puts his life in danger to help a group of patriots find the American cause. When his friend Henry is in danger, he is a true friend and finds the one thing that is necessary for him to say goodbye. This historical fiction book is a great book, and I recommend that you buy it.

I bought this book, along with The Big Dig at Night, for my husband, a Boston native. He loved both the books, but would really have wanted, in addition, more detailed maps in the changes that have been made.

SetteDucati's exquisite combination of angle, light and location saturate this book with incredible photographs that continue to amaze me. It offered this Bostonian an exclusive look inside the streets below my feet. I've enjoyed this book from a photographers standpoint- and given this book as a gift to friends involved with the construction of the Big Dig. This book delights and intrigues every time! :)

This is a fabulous book of photos, the best photography of urban settings that I've ever seen. Sette-Ducati makes the subterranean world of the Big Dig look strange and amazing. A remarkable achievement.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes intelligent, well-paced, witty mysteries. I found that Blanche Cleans Up had great pacing, characterization, and humour, combined with a sharp awareness of race, class and gender issues. I have not read the first two books in this series, but after reading Blanche Cleans Up, I think I'm going to look for them. I enjoy mystery novels, but because there are so many of them out there, there's a wide variety of quality. I think this is the first time I've read a mystery novel that wasn't afraid to take radical stands on race and gender issues. Blanche is a great, strong character, and Neely's insights on racism and sexism in North American society are dead-on, in my opinion. I look forward to the rest of her books.

I had read Walter Mosley's mystery novels and was pleased to see African-American characters in a murder-mystery - a genre that seems to be sadly under-represented in our community. I enjoyed Mr. Mosley's treatments immensely, but alas, the undercurrent suggested that only men should be involved in the business of solving mysteries. Then just a week ago I was introduced to Blanche White. I'm in love!!!!!!! This is a wonderful introduction to an African-American domestic embroiled in a murder mystery invovling her employer which lends itself to startlingly candid observations on life from this perspective. While I readily admit that the mystery itself tends to sometimes take a back seat to Blanche's astute observations on American life, in time, Ms. Neely will hone her murder-mysteries with Blanche as the ultimate sleuth who ranks right up there with Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, and yes, even Dirty Harry! I have already ordered all of the Blanche books because after reading one chapter, I knew one story would hardly satisfy my desire for a female detective like this one. A definite must. I applaud Ms. Neely's efforts, heartily recommend, and look forward to reading the others!

I am a 20 year old, African American college student and I work at a public library in Mississippi. While shelving books one day I saw "Blanche Cleans Up." This was rare to me because I very seldom see books by African Americans at this library, so I decided to read this one. I couldn't put it down! This book was awesome! I loved the way the author used politics and racial issues that almost all African Americans can relate to. After reading "Blanche Cleans Up," I read the two previous books in the series ("Blanche on the Lam" and "Blanche Among the Talented Tenth") and needlees to say, the were also great. I look forward to reading "Blanche Passes Go."

Keep up the good work Ms. Neely!

--Toni

I love Jonathan Franzen's work, especially The Twenty Seventh City, which is just brilliant. The Corrections is pretty good too. But I am terriby disappointed by his second novel, Strong Motion. It is murky, implausible, pointless, and devoid of admirable characters, moving sentiments or delightful plot twists. Don't waste your money.

Jonathan Franzen's novels so far, "Strong Motion" and "The Twenty-Seventh City," are notable because he breaks the conventions of workshopped-to-death books and blasts into the world of facts. His prose style isn't as graceful as Mark Helprin's, but he does inhabit the same world of fantastic plots, existential heros and man-made disasters. In "Strong Motion," Franzen depicts a man and woman struggling to discover the source of strange earthquakes in Boston as they fight against the materialism of society and their upbringings. Along the way, Franzen injects his usual host of bizarre characters, including a fundamentalist minister-cult leader who turns out to be just as much an outcast as the protagonists. Franzen also fills the book with history and odd facts; his short description of the life of a racoon in Boston is devastating; it's worth the price of the book. The lead character, Louis, is unappealing, as the Kirkus review suggests, which proves a drag on the novel

I picked up Strong Motion after enjoying Franzen's The Corrections. The story lines in this novel are more complexly layered than those in The Corrections, but also more tightly organized. Most notably, in stark contrast to The Corrections, Franzen does not send us off to the Baltics to experience needless side stories. Every overlapping and interwoven piece of text is important to the rest of the novel.

Brief decriptions of the plot do not do the book justice, because they come off as unbelievable, even gimmicky. While Franzen does take bold risks with this story and his characters, this novel is so well crafted that I did not even pause to consider whether a particular plot twist was plausible. Like all good fiction, the unreal becomes real as the story unfolds.

With rich, conflicted characters and smart, penetrating observations of American society, Franzen's Strong Motion is a master work. It is easy to see why there was such a buzz around the release of The Corrections: Franzen is one of the best contemporary American literary fiction has to offer.

This book is a straight-shooting and electrifying tale of Whitey Bulger's gang in Boston. It offers insight into Whitey's world unlike any book I've read so far on the subject. The author is not looking for forgiveness or sympathy and often refers to himself as a scumbag. He gives graphic details on his bonecrushing days and Whitey's violence. Well chronicled and fascinating reading.

I saw Mackenzie on CSPAN Books. I was totally captivated by his willingness to share his world and inner fealings with the audience. This kid has to be telling the truth (I said to myself), so I bought the book. All I can say is, WOW. There is truly another world that we as civilized people only think we read about. Mackenzie, brings us into this world, and let me tell you, it's terrifiong but blatantly honest and raw. At times, I wanted to kill him, and at times I cried, and tipped my hat to him. At the end, the real Eddie Mac (as he calls himself) came out to be a loving father, a man who would give you the shirt off his back, but kill you in two seconds if you came near one of his kids in a threatening way. All in all, I rate this street thriller a 5.

I thought this book tells the truth about Southie and James "whitey" Bulger. Mackenzie isnt afraid to be honest about himself which makes it easier for the reader to connect with him. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about true crime.

I have read several Spenser novels chronologically starting with Mortal Stakes. This was my least favorite so far, but I still give it high grades. Parker is really stretching credibility in a story that boils down to a fight between two boys over a girl. It is a really big and complicated fight, and it involves mercenaries, gun manufacturers, CIA, FBI, so on and so on. But Parker somehow pulled it off. I can't help but enjoy the dynamic of Spenser, Hawk, Susan, et al. As with all of Parker's books, the strength lies in his characters.

Overall, it was an entertaining but not quite great book; it was just a little too farfetched to get a five star rating. But if you are a fan of Spenser, you have to read this book. It is of crucial importance if you are following the relationships and the development of the characters.

Having read all of Parker's Spenser novels -- and all but the first are very good or better -- this one is the best. It integrates all the familiar Spenser characters from earlier novels, even Rachel Wallace, sheds further light on the relationship with Hawk, and, most especially, on that with Susan Silverman, which is the subject of the esoteric title. It shows Spencer sensitive and suffering over the woman he loves, seems satisfying psychologically to me, although I'm not sure Susan would act quite as she did. But that's a quibble. This is Parker at his best, Spenser at his height, and a good, rip-roaring, cross-country adventure story to boot. I like God Save the Child and Mortal Stakes and Early Autumn and Small Vices very much. But if I had to take one Spenser book with me on a long, boring journey, this would be it.

I just finished Robert B. Parker's "A Catskill Eagle" for the fifth time in as many years. I didn't intend for it to become a yearly ritual, but it has done that and I'm happy for it.

Eagle is the book that makes Spenser epic, that cements the bond between Spenser and Hawk among the great literary friendships. It is Parker's way of enforcing the comparisons between his own Spenser and the unstoppable, nameless knight of Edmund Spenser's "Faerie Queen". It is more than a knight's tale, more than a picaresque, more than a detective novel.

To rescue Susan from her other lover, a rich, cruel and brutal man, Spenser and Hawk cut a swath of destruction across America. In order to secure the distressed damsel, they commit murder and arson and eventually sign on for an assassination. As an example of the depths of love and fealty, this book ranks up there with The Sun Also Rises. As an action-adventure it is perfect. As a hilarious buddy comedy it belongs in the same cabinet as any Hope/Crosby road film.

If there is a weak spot in this novel, it is in Russell Costigan himself, Susan's lover. In his desire to make Russell the very opposite of Spenser, he makes him dislikable, crude, a whiny, insecure neanderthal undeserving of Susan's love or attention. It makes her decision bewildering and unbelievable, despite Parker's attempts to explain.

But this book isn't about Russell. It's not even about Susan. It is about the quest. It is about the things around us that define who we are and how we respond when we are needed. And in that, it succeeds far beyond almost anything else you will read in this genre.

I loved God is a Bullet. It was dark, gritty, noir-ish story. A little graphic and violent, but essential to the story.

I wanted to like Never Count Out the Dead. Rarely will I give up on a book, even if I don't like it. I will muddle through just to see what happens. Not so here. The other night, after having read into the second section of the book, I put it down and decided "I don't care". That's pretty bad, for me. Teran's language and descriptions seem a ittle flamboyant just for the sake of being so. I didn't feel that way about the first book.

When I began making promotional appearances for my first mystery novel, readers wanted to know how to classify my work. While there were all types of debates about representative authors of other mystery sub-genres, there was no debate at all about the darkest of mystery's contemporary noir writers. With NEVER COUNT OUT THE DEAD, Boston Teran continues to own the noir writing field. Telling a tale of haunted and tragic characters, Teran's prose jumps off the page. His complex plot weaves the present with past and creates a tough story of violence, manipulation, and ruthlessness centering around John Sully and Dee Storey. If you enjoy the darkest of crime fiction, NEVER COUNT OUT THE DEAD is a book you will love.

I love, just love, the style he writes in. I don't agree with the critcism that this novel, nor his first, got for the style of the prose. It's simply marvellous. it's unusual, quirky, eccentric, casts wonderful images into the mind, and is just plain genius. I cant get enough of it. You have to read every word to get the full brilliant picture that his writing is trying to paint, otherwise you can get lost.

The characters are great, although there are many of them, and if you dont read concentratingly, you may get them confused in your own mind. Also, they don't jump off the page with realism as much as those in God is A Bullet did. (In particular Dee Storey, the murderous mother, who is not as scary and terrifying as she is made out. Most of the time, she seems just to be empty threats.) But Shay Storey is a brilliant character (somewhat similar to Case Hardin in GIAB) as is John Victor Sully, whose story of revenge and resurrection is the main theme of this book.

The plotting is taut, the atmosphere of the book is a cloud covered night, and the tone is as black as black.

Boston Teran's books are simply marvellous (All two of them!) i cannot wait to see where this young author takes himself to within a few years time.

As a great fan of romantic suspense, I was really excited by the premise and the interesting beginning of the novel... but as it went along I found myself getting frustrated and wanting to throw the book across the room. Tess's (the heroine's) thoughts seemed to jump around, stupid choices were made (for a supposedly smart woman) and scenes and dialog were sometimes hard to follow. Motivations were often unclear and information omitted. The relationship between Tess and Andrew was very tepid - there was little hint of true passion and growing affection between them, and their meager love scenes were mediocre. The characters of Dolly and Harl were sweet and/or quirky, but not enough to rescue the novel's flaws. I felt sadly let down at the end and expected better of Carla Neggers. I'm not sure that I would buy this author again.

What more could a woman ask for? Actually, when Tess Haviland is handed a deed instead of a check for payment of design work she does for a rich, arrogant, disliked client in the form of a run-down, lakeshore home, she's unprepared for more then fixing up an old carriage house. What she gets is a historical house with an interesting background and next door neighbors that consist of a Adam, a handsome widower with a 6 year old enchanting daughter, and Harl, the Vietnam vet and former police officer with a crusty exterior that hides a marshmellow heart. Those are the pluses. On the minus side, she has rumors of ghost in her house and a skeleton that is here one minute and gone the next in her cellar.

Ms. Neggers weaves a story of mystery and suspense around the compelling characters she writes about. The outcome was fairly predictable, but an interesting read from start to finish. I loved this book!

Ms. Neggers books keep getting better and better. The Carriage House is a wonderful. Its packed with suspense,humor and romance. Ms. Neggers writing style brings the characters vividly to life.

Tess Haviland, is an independent woman looking for answers. Andrew, is her neighbor, with a 6,going on 20,year old daughter, who knows it all. Throw in a few shady(?)characters and you're hooked.

If you're looking for a good read, you can't do any better than The Carriage House.

I must first declare my bias. I am a person who has some sympathy with the ideas of the author and I am in fact a non-believer. Despite that I did not particularly enjoy it. The author has written a number of books on related topics and is active in a political way. Towards the end of the book he describes how the religious right is politically active and how they provide pamphlets and information and become involved in local and school politics. He encourages people with a liberal outlook to do the same. This book is basically a fact list for that purpose rather than being a book which stands on its own as a dispassionate study of an interesting phenomena.

In reality the book is quite short. It is 218 pages but the type face is quite large. It can be read quite quickly. It has a brief history of the rise of the separation of church and state and talks a little about early American history. The initial settlement of America was by religious groups who did not show much tolerance. He refers to the execution of some quakers by one colony. There is a discussion about the reasons for the development of constitutional separation which would seem to be that although America was a Christian country there was enormous division within the various sects and there was not a clear consensus about the real elements of religious belief.

The book then discusses issues around the operation of rights clauses and a history of some litigation. The book is readable and is a good introduction but is short and superficial. However the reality is that the aim of the book is to be a primer more than a scholarly work so that my complaints are probably minor quibbles

In this work, Rob Boston gives a good in-depth analysis of the church state separation issue. He provides an excellent historical background including a detailed description of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution's first amendment. Prior drafts of the amendment provide very interesting reading. He correctly examines the effect of the 14th amendment that extended the Bill of Rights to the states and the fact that it was legal for states to set up religion up to that point.

Crucial Supreme Court cases are covered in detail providing excellent examinations of the opinions they generated. He points out that church state separation was virtually ignored during the 19th century and exploded as an issue when immigration during the 20th century brought a number of new religions to the country that the people had never previously encountered.

Mr. Boston does not hide his disdain for the Religious Right and it becomes very obvious in some of his statements, but he illuminates some of the dangers this small but very influential group pose. He exposes the desires of some extreme fringes to convert America into a Christian theocracy.

All in all this is a great work with thorough documentation of sources that allow a reader to research further into the issue. Mr. Boston also provides a number of historical documents in whole or in part to illustrate the mindset of the founding fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Not nearly enough people in this country are aware of the machinations of the "Religious Reich" trying to overthrow our democratic institutions. This book could do a lot to remedy that problem.

Incidentally, it's a meaningless argument to say that because the First Amendment doesn't explicitly say "separation of church and state," such separation must not exist. By this logic, the Bill of Rights doesn't exist either. Show me one place where "Bill of Rights" is explicitly spelled out in the Constitution...

THIS IS AN INTERESTING BOOK AT TIMES AND VERY TRUE. THE AUTHOR SEEMS TO KEEP TELLING US ABOUT THE WORKOUT JACKIE ROBINSON HAD WITH THE RED SOX THAT WAS STAGED TO COVERUP THE TRUTH ABOUT PREJUDICE ON THE RED SOX. I GOT TIRED OF HEARING THE SAME THING TIME AFTER TIME IN THIS BOOK. ON THE GOOD SIDE HE MAKES A LOT OF POINTS WITH BILL RUSSELL, PUMPSIE GREEN, JIM RICE ETC. HE TRULY SHOWS HOW THE RED SOX HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES SLIP THRU THEIR HANDS BECAUSE OF THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD BLACKS. WORTH READING.

Howard Bryant combines the research skills of a first-rate journalist with the eyes and ears of a skilled novelist to tell the sad story of institutional racism and the Red Sox. This is a book that is not limited to looking at just sports, though, he captures the mood of the city and its troubled times, often beautifully weaving in colorful anecdotes concerned with busing, the controversial Charles Stuart murder case, the prejudices of the media and the bottom line of big business.

He raises some fascinating points: Ted Williams paid a verbal tribute to the Negro Leagues when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Willie Mays still regrets that he and Jackie Robinson were never able to hit in a lineup with Teddy Ballgame at Fenway and Celtics superstar Bill Russell would often drive Red Sox utilityman Pumpsie Green (the first black to play for the Sox) around Boston, making acid comments about a city that found it so hard to accept African Americans.

This is a nicely done piece of writing. Give it a chance.

The publication of Shut Out occurs at a time when the Boston Red Sox have
just finished their first season of a new era. An era promising to right
every wrong of the past 101 seasons. The sad part is that in reading this
book we come away with the feeling that there is more to the antidote than
simply John Henry, new seats at Fenway, and the mere promise of final racial
equality for the team. Howard Bryant, while publicly a journalist covering
the rival New York Yankees, is also a black man who grew up in the city of
Boston during its most turbulent period for blacks- the school busing crisis
of the early 1970s. Bryant's journalistic talents shine brightly throughout
this well-written expose. He begins the story with a good deal of Boston
history entirely unrelated to baseball. He examines early 19th century
Boston when it was known to blacks as home to the abolitionist movement.
Tracing Boston's slow move away from perceived abolitionist leanings and

into political rivalries among various groups, he shows a city ripe with
prejudice. The Boston Red Sox of the early Tom Yawkey era was very much a
club. Yawkey surrounded himself with cronies who thought very much the way
he did. While never publicly speaking out against the idea of integrated
baseball, others in his organization did. From the eloquent dodging of the
question by General Manager Eddie Collins to the very public racist comments
of Manager Pinky Higgins we learn how a team who could have been the first
in baseball to integrate, became the absolute last. A good deal of time is
given to the story of Jackie Robinson's Fenway Park tryout- predetermined to
failure and ignored by all from Joe Cronin on the field to the top ranks of
the organization. Two years later, Robinson would break the color barrier
with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In similar fashion we see the refusal of a Red
Sox talent scout to even watch the young Willie Mays, another Hall of Famer
who was Boston's for the taking, but would instead break in with the New
York Giants. The thought of Robinson and Mays playing on the field with Ted
Williams is enough to give any Sox fan chills. When in 1959 the Red Sox
finally do break the color barrier with Elijah "Pumpsie" Green, it is Ted
Williams who shows the most solidarity with the black rookie.
On a personal note, as a lifelong Red Sox fan growing up in the 1970s, the
realization of just how few black players have made the team is
disheartening. We learn of the struggles of more recent players from Reggie
Smith, to Jim Rice, to Ellis Burks, to Mo Vaughn- playing and living in
Boston. Now that the past has been publicly stated, perhaps things could
change for the future of the franchise. Let's just hope the city doesn't
hold them back for they are truly New England's team.
-Jonathan Colcord