MAD

Very few murderers have the horrendous history of Larry Singleton. Kent Allard spells out the legal prostitution of the state of California who released Singleton after he mutilated and raped beautiful 15-year-old Mary Vincent in 1978. When Singleton was paroled after serving only 8 years in prison, Californians were outraged. A small army of law enforcement officers wasted tax payer money to guard him as though he was a famous star. Eventually he moved to Florida where he knifed to death a mother during a sex act. Allard's accurate account records the horrible deeds of a monster. By memorializing Singleton's pitiful life Allard forces his readers to take a cold, hard look at our justice system. Recently victim Mary Vincent whose arms were chopped off by Singleton appeared before California Governor Grey Davis. She is a beautiful young woman who has incredible talent as an artist. She has recently married and feels optimistic about her future now that Singleton is on Florida's death row.

I didn't expect much when I picked up this book- I got a whole lot more than I bargained for.

Larry Singleton is a strange fellow. I really liked how the book contained chapter after chapter of direct quotes taken from police interviews. The subject is grisly, but the cat and mouse game is hilarious. Larry trips himself up with lie after lie, time after time.

You almost feel sorry for him.

The book maintains a healthy balance, however, as we feel the pain and gain a lot of empathy, and sympathy, for his victims- especially his first.

This was a fast read. I couldn't put it down.

I was afraid, at first, the book might be too graphic- and too morbid- but it wasn't. It was well written and a real page turner.

Can anyone tell me if there is additional info available on Mary Vincent, the teenaged victim of Larry Stapleton in 1978? Was there ever a book written on her attack, in addition to the mention of her ordeal in the mad chopper? I have read the Mad Chopper. Excellant writer. Straight to the point. Extremely informative. I will watch for other books by the same.

For those of us who went through a phase of tracking down ACE paperback editions of everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever wrote, it is interesting to see how many of his yarns were originally published in different issues of different pulp fiction magazines of the day. Such is the case with "The Mad King," a tale of confused identities involving European royalty in the tradition of "The Prisoner of Zenda." The first part was published in "All-Story Weekly" as "The Mad King" in March of 1914 with the follow up, "Barney Custer of Beatrice" appearing the following year in "Blue Book Magazine."

The story is set in the fictional land of Lutha where the corrupt regent Peter of Blentz has been keeping Leopold, the late king's mentally unbalanced son, locked up. But after a decade's imprisonment Leopold has escaped and the regent has his minister of War, Coblich, order Captain Maenck to recapture Leopold. Meanwhile, American tourist Barney Custer is visiting his mother's homeland. Seeing a description of the "mad king," he saves a young woman from a runaway horse and on a whim introduces himself as the "mad king."

At this point ERB pours on the contrivances. The young woman believes him, at which point explaining the truth does no good, because she is really the Princess Emma von der Tann, who father supported the old king and would like to see nothing better than Leopold assume the throne. The whole point of the first part of the story is to get the real Leopold on the throne, which does nothing to resolve the romantic tension between Barney and Emma, especially in light of all the political intrigue. The second part finds that the problems of Barney and Lutha are not settled by having Leopold on the throne and Burroughs plays on the various tensions in Europe that were leading the continent towards the First World War.

Your enjoyment of this early ERB potboiler depends almost entirely on your tolerance for confused identities and your knowledge of European politics in the years before WWI. Burroughs would use the idea of look alike characters often, most notably in a couple of Tarzan novels, which is one of the reasons this is an average ERB offering. Burroughs does have a plausible reason for why Barney and Leopold look so much alike, but that really just amounts to another trick from the same deck. You do get strong dosages of adventure and romance that you come to expect from a Burroughs pulp fiction yarn, but the total package is not especially special.

One of my favorites of ERB's stand-alone novels. The resemblance to The Prisoner of Zenda/Rupert of Hentzau is uncanny, even to the two part structure of the story; one could almost say they were twins. This version of the story, set to the backdrop of pre and early World War I, substitutes an American for an English imposter, but for all intents and purposes this is the same story told in Burrough's style.

American, Barney Custer, travelling in Europe visits, Lutha, the homeland of his mother, located near the border of Austria and Serbia. He is instantly caught up in the politics of the two factions within the nation. For those that have not read Prisoner of Zenda, the premise is that the main character bears an almost twin-like resemblance to the nation's king who is being menaced by a rival to the throne, the resulting confusion between the two men and love for the king's betrothed provide the meat of the story plot.

The original Prisoner of Zenda is by far the better adult read, as it incorporates more twists and deeper character development. However, for early teens, or just a fun read without the moral agonizing, this is the better choice. P-)

Outstanding read for fun and humor nonf of which is lost in a book over 86 years old. The only book he wrote which is better is the first Tarzan book.

What happens if the kids start from the last question and works backwards? Anyone knows how to get in touch with the authors?

Why would a child start from the end and work backwards?? You have to teach your students how to do the problems and score them, very simple! This is a great resource- kids LOVE them.

From a teacher's perspective, this book is a necessity. I've been using it with my elementary students for 5 years, and it has greatly increased their speed in math. The kids enjoy the daily challenge and don't get bored with it. As soon as they master a skill, there's a new one waiting.

This book tells the story of a young man who travels to Papua New Guinea to try his hand at medical research. The book jackets accurately describes it as "a gripping medical mystery, an exotic travelogue, and a stirring coming-of-age story." Just one year out of college, Klitzman sets off to Papua New Guinea alone to work on a project arranged by Carleton Gajdusek to survey the incubation time for kuru. Klitzman soon finds himself living in the Highlands, where he spends his time seeking out former cannibals who are dying of kuru so that he can interview them about when they last ate human flesh.

Klitzman's cultural insights are quite compelling- -instead of finding fault with all that frustrates him, he is able to put the difficulties in context and realize that people are much the same everywhere, underneath their material trappings. One of the fascinating facets of this book is that at the time when Klitzman was doing his research in PNG, kuru was dying out- -the project that he was working on was to find the incubation period for a disease without a future, or so it seemed at the time. When Mad Cow began popping up a few years after Klitzman finished his project, the results suddenly became extremely important for trying to estimate potential deaths due to tainted beef. The book serves as a good reminder that basic research may prove its worth long after the fact.

The book's main narrative takes place in Papua New Guinea in 1983-84, 7 years after independence. It provides interesting historical documentation of living conditions in PNG in the time immediately following independence. In 1997, Klitzman returns to the area where he did his research, and observes how many aspects of life in PNG had deteriorated in the intervening time, despite the quantity of wealth coming into the country. For this reason, area specialists may find much of interest in Klitzman's detailed descriptions of living conditions in the early 1980s in PNG.

I had read Dr Klitzman's earlier book "Being Positive" and wanted to read more of his work, the title sounded very strange but bought the book after the life affirming experience of reading the first. Dr Klitzman is one hell of an explorer !, brave, adventurous and a great medical investigator and researcher. The Papua New Guinea Highlands might hold the answers to the questions that medical researchers have been asking for years and Dr Klitzman is a trail blazer to these answers. This story deserves to be read by anyone who is affected directly or indirectly by any disease from cancer to HIV, it will give you a better insight and hope.

Written with the intensity of a thriller, THE TREMBLING MOUNTAIN is a brilliant examination of the cultures of the mind. Read it now.

This Book Seemed so unlifelike to me but As The story comes to page 115 it gets much more lifelike but who would give twenty thousand dollars to a waiter?

The only problem is, I've read this book over so many times and I STILL haven't got the right ending!!! The thing I love about these books so much is that you get to read them over and over and over!!! They fun, but sometimes frustrating!!! Esp. this one...But it was good and pretty challanging and some pretty funky endings!!!*enjoy*!!!

God Bless ~Amy

It was great. I like it's plot and how you choose what scares will make you scream!!! (Plus the athor is GREAT!)

Joy Harjo is reason enough to read poetry. Although IN MAD LOVE AND
WAR is not one of my favorite Harjo collections, it is worth reading.
In "For Anna Mae Pictor Aquash," Harjo writes, "Beneath
a sky blurred with mist and wind,/ I am amazed as I watch the violet/
heads of crocuses erupt from the stiff earth/ after dying for a
season,/ as I have watched my own dark head/ appear each morning after
entering/ the next world/ to come back to this one,/amazed"
(p. 17). In this book, Harjo writes poetry in "a language of
lizards and stones" (p. 9), which is not always easy to
understand. In fact, for me, many of the 44 poems here are
impenetrable. Still, there are plenty of rewarding moments along the
way, e.g., finding grace "with coffee and pancakes in a truck
stop along Highway 80" (I), "hearing songs in pine
trees" (p. 5), and "looking at the stars in this strange city,
frozen in the back of the sky, the only promises that ever make
sense" (p. 5), making this a book of poetry worth
exploring.

G. Merritt

"In Mad Love and War" is a collection of poetry by Joy Harjo. According to the author bio at the end of the book, Harjo is a member of the Creek (Muscogee) Native American nation, and grew up in Oklahoma and New Mexico. Much of this book reflects this heritage: "We were a stolen people in a stolen land" (from "Autobiography").

"In Mad Love" contains many cultural and historical allusions embedded in a complex web of surreal imagery and autobiographical-sounding fragments. Harjo seems to be trying to transcend both linguistic and cultural barriers; she notes that "All poets / understand the final uselessness of words" ("Bird"). She does not only focus on the Native American experience; she also has a number of African-American cultural references. She takes us, among other places, to a prison riot in West Virginia and a political discussion in Nicaragua.

Although I found some of the book opaque when I first read it, I found "In Mad Love" to be very rewarding on second and third readings. Harjo's language is often quite startling, and achingly beautiful. Much of the book seeks to find a link between the contemporary urban experience and the world of myth and nature. Throughout the book are many references to animals: the trickster Rabbit, "iridescent dragonflies," "a / turtle's nose above water," etc.

Harjo writes of flooding the city "with a revolutionary fire" ("City of Fire"), and indeed the book does have a strong political flavor. Her melding of political commitment, intimate passion, myth, and multicultural awareness makes "In Mad Love and War" a demanding and intriguing read.

Harjo is an excellent poet - her poetry is always truthful even if the truth is one that we prefer not to face. This book contains a number of prose poems as well as modern verse; it is clear that Harjo writes what is true and allows it to take the form in which it presents itself.

This collection includes poems that explore human relationships, music, death ... universal concerns written about in a way that recognizes and uses the universality while selecting the images from her Cree background. We are privileged to glimpse another way of relating to the world while being presented with the difficulties of growing up in a minority culture. "At five I was designated to string beads in kindergarten. At seven I skew how to play chicken and win. And at fourteen I was drinking."

But her command of the language amkes even the starkest reality beautiful: "I am fragile, a piece of pottery smoked from fire / made of dung, /the design drawn from nightmares. I am an arrow, painted / with lighning ...

Harjo is one of the best contemporary poets. Try any of her books and you'll see a poet, a musician, a painter all sharing their vision with you.

Millie Criswell's entire Little Italy series, starting with The Trouble With Mary has been delightful. Mad About Mia is a wonderful addition to the series and I only hope that we haven't seen the last of the Russos, DeNeros and their Little Italy companions.

Mia DeNero is the ne'er do well sister of Angela (The Trials of Angela) who is now married to John Franco. Mia has opened a Bodyguard service, just the latest in a string of jobs her parents didn't approve of.

Nick Caruso hires Mia to guard him while he writes a novel about the Mafia. Mia moves him into her apartment and proceeds to introduce him to all of her family and friends in Baltimore's Little Italy. Which suits Nick as he is actually an undercover FBI agent investigating a money laundering scheme that may be run by Mia's Uncle Al.

Mia is a strong woman who also has a severe inferiority complex about her own femininity and choice of men-not to mention her many jobs. She reminded me in some ways of Robert on Everybody Loves Raymond, when she mutters "everybody loves Angela"-I immediately thought of poor Robert who always feels second best.

Nick is a man who is afraid to let people too close as he was a foster child who learned the hard way never to get too attached or place to much trust with people. Nick fights falling in love with Mia, as he doesn't think there could be a future for them when Mia learns who he is and how he has decieved her.

Criswell has created a delightful community with people one wants to meet again and again. My particular favorite is
Mia's father Sam, a retired cop/transvestite who enjoys lounging around in gold lame'. While Sam is a funny character, he is also portrayed as the great father and husband he is;when it would have been easy to just make him the butt of jokes.

I highly recommend Mad About Mia and it stands well on it's own, but do yourself a favor and read all 4 books in the series in order.(The Trouble With Mary, Much Ado About Annie and The Trials of Angela). Each was a quick and fun read with characters that are extremely memorable.

Mia DeNero has made some unorthodox career choices in her life like driving a bulldozer on a highway construction crew. When she hangs her new diploma on the wall, Mia is determined to make a success of her new business Guardian Angel Protective Services. So when geeky Niccolo Caruso shows up in her office offering three thousand a month for her services, she gladly offers him a her apartment couch while he finishes writing his book, an expose of the Mafia.

Mia does not know that Nick is actually working undercover for the FBI Organized Crime Investigation Unit. Nor does she realize that she lives live right above Mama Sophia's Restaurant which will allow Nick to keep close watch on his suspect who frequents the establishment. Also, Mia's sister is married to the Russo family and will provide an opportunity to interview family members and obtain other information he would not otherwise have access to.

Nick chooses Mia because she is naive and she is new to the bodyguard business. But Mia's inexperience does not make her unobservant. Once they fall in love, Mia may not overlook Nick's deceitfulness. Moreover, Nick is usually up front about women's place in his life. They are for friendship and sex, and never long term. So learning that he does not need her protection, but is using her bodes ill for Mia, regardless of Nick's sex appeal.

Fans of Mia Criswell will love her newest romantic comedy. While elements of intrigue underlie this delightful read, it is the marvelous characterizations that make MAD ABOUT MIA such a treasure. With Criswell's characteristically spunky heroine and sexy hero, MAD ABOUT MIA provides plenty of amusement. Although she is a bit flighty, Mia's determination and tenacity challenge Nick's determination to protect his investigation. Moreover, the background draws on the best of Baltimore's Little Italy, resulting in a flavorful read. A quick and entertaining story that fans will not want to miss, MAD ABOUT MIA comes highly recommended.

In Baltimore, Mia DeNero received her diploma from a bodyguard school after almost accidentally killing the instructor and needing her sister the lawyer to receive it. She opened the Guardian Angel Protective Services, but has no clients perhaps because no one can picture a midget like Mia keeping someone safe. True crime writer Niccolo Caruso hires Mia when he claims he is in danger because he is writing a Mafia expose. To keep him safe she allows him to move into her apartment with her.

Nick is actually undercover as a member of the FBI Organized Crime Investigation Unit trying to crack a money laundering scheme. He is using Mia to get at the uncle of her brother-in-law Alfredo Graziano who claims mob connections as he frequents the restaurant beneath his bodyguard's apartment. As he and Mia become better acquainted they fall in love, but he knows that once she learns the truth she may never trust him let alone forgive him for his duplicity.

Though Mia is a dingbat, fans will appreciate this amusing romantic suspense though the intrigue appears late. The story line is humorous as Mia does nothing right even when she protects her client because the assaulter is a kid with a water gun. Still she believes in herself so much that Nick admires her spunk and dedication as much as her body. Fans of the Baltimore based series will go MAD ABOUT MIA, a lovable kook.

Harriet Klausner

A book that was written in ninety days can hardly be well researched, nor can it come to any conclusions based in reality - at least this is what I have come to believe after reading this about the tragedy of Waco. Bailey and Darden are critical of everyone and everything involved with the entire case, but they do not attempt to actually understand Koresh's point of view, nor do they seem to have tried to read any of the explanations put out of Koresh himself. Undoubtedly there were problems with the way the events were managed (or mis-managed) by the American government as well as the way that Koresh and his followers reacted but what the authors neglect to realise is that Koresh was highly intelligent and certainly believed in everything that he was doing.

Really, I was unimpressed by the flippant handling of a sensitive subject and I would not recommend this to anyone that actually wants a balanced account of events.

This is the most balanced treatise I have seen on the topic. The authors explore the facts thoroughly, and come to the cnclusion that both sides blew it. Most people seem to have an agenda, and want to place blame on one side or the other. This book provides insight into the lives of Koresh and his followers, as well as the government personnel involved, and discusses all the agendas, all the mistakes, and the few failed attempts to straighten things out. If we *really* want to learn from the tragedy at Waco, this book is a great starting point.

"Mad Man" is a hybrid fact/op-ed piece in which media, law enforcement, and religious lunatics are playing a deadly, unconscious game of hot-potato with a stick of dynamite and not quitting until the fuse burns down to the charge.

By the end of the book, media, feds, and all believers in religion throughout history are charred beyond recognition. When asked what slant he put on his book, Brad Bailey said, "Oh, I tried to be balanced."

Boy, he wasn't kidding. This book is scorched earth, and it is hard to disagree with his conclusions.

"Mad Man" has several stylistic anchor points. It is hard fact reporting, it is a sort of a reporter's diary, it's a Tom Wolfe-ish cultural documentary and commentary, a critique of religion, and a hard-core, make-you-sick grisly Police gazzette story, all laced with Bailey's trademark stunned, outraged, and eloquent rants.

The reader develops a sense of awe at the work that went into getting "Mad Man" out. You can feel Bailey killing himself banging out a thick book under a deadline more appropriate for a newspaper article. You sense two take-out cheeseburgers and a carton of smokes a day, seven days a week; you imagine the man turning in the manuscript, crawling into bed, and sleeping for four days.

Bob Darden's summary of Davidian history is comprehensive and factual, delivering essential background on the people and philosophy which led to the Waco debacle.

Many books have been written about the standoff, from all kinds of angles -- pro-law, anti-law, pro religion anti Koresh, pro-Koresh, media critiques, etc., but this is a book that lights the flame thrower and spins it freely in all directions, roasting the entire event and all participants, including every one of us in front of our TVs. And for that reason, this is perhaps the definitive book on Waco.

This book is a great tale of life in a psychiatric ward.
However, due to its diary format, it has no beginning or end, and certainly no main plot, making it easy to put down and pick up later.
I wish the author the best, but I didn't get much information that would be practical for my own life out of her book.

Musings of a Mad Madam is an interesting look inside the mind of a hospitalized bipolar. It's presented as a series of musings, short vignettes of daily life and the tenuous friendships formed while in a psychiatric hospital. This format, almost poetic in the sparse wording, could only come from a broken mind, a mind where all illusions and guile have been temporarily stripped away.
Bravo!

This book was not meant to give advice on how to live life as a manic depressive or give suggestions. It is one woman's account of her own journey through mental illness. It is set in a diary format. It is not a story and does not have a 'plot' perse..but the writing is very engaging and candid. Recommended.

This should have been a great romance novel. However, it is so bogged down in stupid dialogue that I wanted to scream "Doesn't any publisher use editors any more?" The same old discussions go on again and again and sometimes the dialogue is just a groaner. Example: After a discussion about an upcoming meeting. He: "Do you have any questions?" She: "Did Adam have a navel?" and the a page is spent with the heroine wondering why she asked such a dumb question. Indeed, I wondered that, too.

I always finish a book but just couldn't stand anymore of the interminable dialogue and snail's pace of this one. Definitely don't buy at full price. This isn't one for your personal library.

"Mad About Maddie" deals with Maddie Copeland, a small town girl who inherited a fortune from an elderly friend who died. Maddie was shocked to hear of the news and even more shocked the meet Hank Madison, the grandson and heir to the fortune that she inherited. Hank, was a city guy, no time to relax, busy at work and very ambitious. Hank assumed that Maddie was one of those women who conned his grandfather. What was more shocking was the rest of the will which said that Hank could inherit the holdings and companies if Hank agreed to stay in the small town under Maddie's supervision for six weeks, and not suppose to work at all. It was in other words, a set up by his grandfather. This was how Maddie and Hank grew to like each other and eventually fall in love.

This is a slower paced "chick lit," and if you are looking for a fast paced, and lots of action, this is not the book for you. However, slower pace is not necessarily a bad thing as the characters were well developed and you get to know them better. Another thing I like about this book is that, the relationship between Maddie and Hank was slowly developed and was not rushed like other books and I think that is great. Also, the secondary characters in this books are fun and very charismatic. Lastly, the writing is clear and concise and I think this is not your usual romance book and it is quite refreshing.

Maddie Copeland was wary of men. However, one of her est friends was an elderly man named James Madison Sr. For the last three summers James had rented one of the run down cottages on the beach of Hanscomb Harbor, Connecticut. He was one of the best customers of Maddie's Gifts and Maddie loved his sense of humor best. James even made Maddie promise to have his body cremated and his ashes poured into the hollowed-out belly of a hideous, red-glazed, ceramic lobster clock (he even showed Maddie how to do it) instead of an urn. Maddie honored that wish. But she had no idea how rich James was until the reading of his will! Maddie had become rich! The question was: How rich?

James "Hank" Madison III was used to buying off the young blond women who often tried to marry his grandfather for his money. Hank believed Maddie was no different. Hank was even too busy being CEO of his Fortune 500 company to do as the will demanded of him. But Hank had no choice. Unless he spent six weeks away from New York (in Hanscomb Harbor) with no phone, fax, computer, or anything, his company and all his inheritance went to someone named Maddie! Even James and Hank's close friend and attorney, Jim Thornton, agreed with the deceased Madison, the traitor!

ut it seemed Madison Sr was matching up Hank and Maddie from the grave, like their own guardian angel ... or devil.

**** I found this story to be a true delight until near the end. Once the pair finally got together, it became too long winded. However, up until the last page this story was filled with humor. In fact, I found myself chuckling out loud several times and sharing pieces of the more humorous sections with my husband! Readers will get a hoot out of this one! Great book!