Street

It's good to see P.N. Elrod take The Vampire Files beyond the repetitive plot lines of the first six novels. The last three editions to this series (including Cold Sleep) have been excellent mystery novels that reveal something new about these now familiar and comfortable characters.

Here Jack, our vampire hero, and his partner, Charles Escott, find themselves entangled in not one, but two difficult situations that intersect with explosive results. It also leaves room for Jack to continue to learn grow into his vampiric state. This was a very entertaining and enjoyable novel. I look forward to next installment.

Jack Fleming is back in this the ninth book in Pat Elrod's Vampire Files series. In case you haven't met Jack yet, he's a former newspaper reporter who now owns and runs a swank late 1930's nightclub (Lady Crymsyn) in Chicago. Oh, and he's also a vampire - but one to the good guys as opposed to a bloodsucker. (And though each book in the series can stand alone, if you really want to discover the where, why, how and when of the whole story, you'll have to go back and read the previous eight books. You'll enjoy them, too!)

When not acting as gracious host at Lady Crymsyn, Jack spends his evenings work with private agent (detective) Charles Escott and mixing it up with various Chicago mob bosses both friendly and un. This book opens with the solving of a kidnapping masterminded by character destined to become Jack's nemesis. Then it mixes in a pending mob war that could eliminate not just some of Jack's friends, but Jack himself.

Elrod is great with seeding her plot with twists, turns and all out action. And in addition to bringing Jack back to life, she also brings reality back to Chicago and the 1930's. Jack might be a vampire, but you're sure to love him by the time you finish this book. I'm addicted to the series, and I can hardly wait for each new book's arrival. (And I would love to get hold of the one book I missed that is currently out of print.) As always I give COLD STREETS my ***** rating, and I can't wait for her next one.

I love reading P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files series. To me, it's like tuning in to your favorite weekly television program. Her books remind me of the times I used to watch the Untouchables at night as a kid when it came on around midnight. I was the only one awake at that time of night, and I'd sit close to the television and I'd lower the volume I could barely hear it. You get to know the characters and the setting pretty well. Like a good episode, Cold Streets is a solid entry in the series. I thought her last one (Lady Crymsyn) would be tough to follow, but Elrod manages. Character development once again is strong. The way Elrod has her characters speak has you feeling like you're right there - post-prohibition Chicago. I love it!

Helene Hanff was a writer whose dream was to go to London and experienced the Englishness she read and saw on movies. She yearned to see it for herself,she was unable to do so in her 20 years letters correspondence with Frank. At last, her chance arrived when she was invited to go... This book is more like a sequel to "84 Charing Cross Road", Helene long overdue visit to London. Like her diary, this is a collection of her encounters, thoughts and emotions when she finally stepped foot on London,her feeling for the book store-Marks & Co. and her meeting with Frank's wife,Nora and daughter,Sheila.An enchanting book filled with Helene's passion for London. In this journal, Helene expressed her love for London and books. Accounted her sights and thoughts and answered a few doubts about "84 Charing Cross Road". It's full of brilliant,facetious comments and of course a page-turner!

When people dream about going somewhere for a very long time, their hopes are often let down when they get there because they have idealized it for so long. This is certainly not the case for Helene Hanff. After the publishing of her correspondance with a London second-hand bookshop,(titled "84 Charring Crossroad"), Ms. Hanff finally visits her beloved England and feels London's sidewalks beneath her feet. She went looking for the "England of English Literature", and it was indeed there. The truth in this statement unravels with each line of this wonderful book. By the end, one has not only read an account of a trip to England full of humor and happiness, but also met a true kindred spirit who will never be forgotten by her readers.

As someone who has always wanted to travel to England myself, I really loved reading about the trip of a lifetime that Miss Hanff took. A charming book.

If you're looking for the definitive book for researching financial information, look no further than Amelia Kassel's latest book, Super Searchers on Wall Street. It is packed with a wealth of information.

Ms. Kassel brings to bear her extensive research expertise, a Master's of Library Science educational background and her sensitivity to the wide range of research skill levels of her readers to create a book in a conversational Q&A interview format that is useful for researchers who quickly need reliable financial information.

The book is replete with insights, tools and tips from key financial executives that span a vast collection of resources. It ends with a comprehensive glossary of financial terms. And there's an added bonus: Super Searcher Power Tips and Wisdom are offered at the end of each chapter emphasizing crucial aids that will guide you during your pursuit for those definitive pieces of information.

Super Searchers on Wall Street can help you unlock the power of the Internet to answer financial research questions. This is one investment that will pay dividends!

Building on the success of the popular "Super Searcher" series, Amelia Kassel offers her own contribution, "Super Searchers on Wall Street", in which she interviews ten individuals from various investment banks, consulting firms, investment organizations and vendors, all experts in searching the Internet and online services for financial information critical to the success of their employers.

A book like this could suffer in the hands of an unskilled interviewer. Not to worry, Ms. Kassel is not only a competent researcher, but a trained librarian as well and shows adeptness in conducting revealing interviews. Utilizing a question and answer format, she allows her subjects plenty of room to elaborate to her sophisticated and probing questions. Not only do they tell what methods work for them, they share their own sources and also offer fine practical advice. Each profile concludes with a list of power tips distilled from each interview and these golden nuggets are alone worth the purchase price of the book!

The Internet, not surprisingly, assumes an increasingly important role in conducting any kind of research. Even as all of the super searchers utilize it in their work, they do urge caution. True, the Internet allows access to much information online, but there can be a problem with "data integrity" of much web-based information. Several stress the importance of being able to verify information found on the Internet. Others suggest checking web-sites of companies, especially those that are privately held, for material not found elsewhere. Monitoring electronic discussion groups or "news groups" are also cited. The book contains excellent appendices listing referenced web-sites, as well as a helpful glossary of terms. Books with a limited scope like this unfortunately tend to look alike. Some of the people who have been interviewed sound as if they've been coached in their responses and there is a great deal of overlap in the answers. But these are minor quibbles. Anyone engaged in any kind of online financial sleuthing will benefit from Ms. Kassel's fine work.

Successful investors use online research to make investment decisions: this collects the tips and strategies of ten top investment professionals, using interviews to provide keys to which online databases and research techniques yield the desired information which leads to successful investment strategies. Chapters examine sources relied on by consultants and leading firms - web sites and information resources available to all.

The fact is you can always make money in the stock market if you have the knowledge. In this book Wade shows how to take advantage of market dips and actually prosper during times that the unitiated mistakedly refer to as a "Bear Market" Bear Markets are Baloney.

After reading Wall Street Money Machine #3-Bear Market Baloney last winter, I decided to use some of Wades advice.Wade says that during bear markets, energy and gold stocks do well. So far, I am up over 100% on Gold stocks that I in early 2002 and up another 100% on energy stocks that I bought this autumn.In addition, I have added to my cash flow by rolling 2 gold stocks using moving averages as advised by Wade in WSMM#1 and in Rolling Stocks.I highly recommend WSMM#3 along with WSMM#1 and Rolling Stocks to take advantage of the ranges that the market is and will continue to trade in.Great books.

I bought the original version of this book, Bear Market Baloney back in '97 amidst the "Irrational Exuberance" mantra by Greenspan.This book saved and made me tens of thousands of dollars both during the "Bull MARKET" from '97 to 2000 and during that last Bear Market which lasted over three years and was the worst bear market in 60 years.I wholeheartily recommend Wall Street Money Machine Vol 3 along with 2 Down Years and Up We Go and Mr. Cook's newest book, "Red Light Green Light to learn how to work the ups and downs of the market.Remember, timing is everything.

Although the day-trading fad largely disappeared along with the paper profits of the 1990s high-tech bubble, a committed cadre of extreme investors continue to test their mettle against an unforgiving market. Day traders use computer links to stock markets to trade fast and frequently in the hope of profiting from small moves in stock prices. They are lured by the promise of riches, but many are unsuited for the risky venture and ultimately lose everything. Gregory Millman traces the history of day trading, with an emphasis on the unique pitfalls posed by this endeavor. Millman deciphers trading jargon and includes a section outlining the most common techniques utilized by day traders. We from getAbstract recommend this book for its insightful glimpse into a little understood phenomenon.

If you're thinking of becoming a day trader, this book is not a "how to" manual, but it's a good start, providing some invaluable insight into the personalities and forces at work in the world of electronic stock trading. Author Gregory Millman uses the term "extreme" to refer to day traders, much in the same way as we might categorize those athletes who master balance and gravity-defying acts to achieve a sporting "rush" beyond that achieved by professionals in the mainstream sports. Look upon the successful day trader in the same light as the skateboarder who had to fall thousands of times prior to succeeding in the X-Games. The only difference is that the skateboarder is more likely to make it big.

Millman has talked to the true movers and shakers in the field, and relies on some great behind-the-scenes research and his experience in writing for numerous financial publications, to bring us a book that is at once a history lesson, an eye into a day trading "boot camp," and even a test kit for the reader to see if he or she is fit (financially, emotionally, etc.) for what may turn out to be the investing (gambling?) craze of the new millennium.

This book is easy to read and quite captivating. Whether or not you're a broker, a "buy-and-hold" investor, a gambler, or just plain intrigued by what all those playing in the stock market seem to be talking (i.e., bragging) about at parties these days, you will enjoy this book. Even the Electronic Traders Association risk disclosure statement was interesting! Millman's style is smooth, and won't trip you up with dry details or obscure jargon. I read this in just a few hours; can't wait for his next one.

An excellent and highly objective overview of the '90s day trading fad written by a journalist, rather than an author trying to sell a trading book by exploiting the reader's presumed desire to get rich. How ironic that the former book is now out of print while the latter books continue to sell like hotcakes.

The book accurately reports that every time regulators have reviewed the records of day trading firms, a minimum of 90 percent of the traders were losing money. In one instance, at the Boston office of a national day trading firm, 67 out of the 68 traders there were losing money. The book also mentions that a very small number of traders are successful, although the market environment that most likely allowed them to succeed no longer exists. That is, most of these traders played momentum swings in grossly overpriced Internet and high-tech stocks. Many of these stocks, the ones that still exist, are trading at a fraction of their former prices, for example $8 vs. $280.

The chapter on day trading "boot camp" ironically is probably the most informative discussion of day trading strategies I have read.

I was particularly entertained by the account of how one individual left his one million dollar nest egg with a day trading firm and gave them discretionary trading authority over the account before he left on a trip, probably too naive to realize what he had done. The firm's traders traded the account down to $30,000, while one of the firms principals was continually hitting on this individual's attractive girlfriend. When she repeatedly rebuffed his advances, he finally said, "what do you see in him, you know he is broke". This is a perfect illustration of the type of people that operated these day trading firms. Their strategy was to soak the traders by charging $25 commissions while all along knowing that the chance of the traders succeeding was extremely remote.

It is possible, although very difficult to make a living as a trader; in every era of history where there have been securities markets, some individuals have done this. However, the infamous "day trading" phenomenon (the term "day trader" now being pejorative) attempted to sell naive individuals the notion that anyone could do it, all the while playing on their desire to get rich quick.

YOU HAVE BUTTERMAN A KID THAT COME FROM A WELL OFF FAMILY BUT DECIDES HE WANT TO SELL DRUGS
THEN YOU HAVE WES A NERD THAT'S ALL
THEN YOU HAVE SHANK A BAD ASS WHO NEVER REALLY GOT TESTED
BUTTERMAN IS THE H.N.I.C HIS BACK UP RED GET'S LOCKED UP
AND HE IS SUCH A PUNK HE HIRES SHANK, NOW HE NEEDS SOMEONE TO COUNT AND HE KEEP TRACK OF HIS MONEY SO HE DOES EVERY THING IN HIS POWER TO HIRE WES, WES GET'S FIRED FROM HIS JOB AND TAKES UP BUTTERMAN OFFER, EVERYTHING IS O.K. UNTIL RIVAL DRUG GANGS WANT A PIECE OF BUTTERMAN. THIS IS NOT A MUST READ, IT IS MORE LIKE YOU GO BORROW IT FROM A FRIEND OR SOMEWHERE ELSE TRUST ME.

Omar Tyree did it again with capitalcity, it was so good, and funny. The characther shank was my favorite, he was so funny, yet he was also smart. Butterman was the prettyboy in the book, and Wes was the college guy that handle things for butterman. Capital city is the story of drug dealing, and also college life.

THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT READ. MOST PEOPLE MAY HAVE READ THIS BOOK WHEN IT AS CAPITAL CITY IN 1993, BUT FOR NEW COMERS IT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE UNDERGROUND..... ONE OF OMAR TYREE BEST BOOKS BESIDES FLYY GIRL... MEET SHANK- A STREET KID NO ONE HAS YET TO TRY AND WHO HAS NO REGRETS OR DOES HE!!! BUTTERMAN- A MIDDLE CLASS KID WHO CHOOSE THE STREET LIFE...... AND WES- JUST A COLLEGE BOY WHO TAKES A JOB WITH BUTTERMAN.....READ THIS BOOK AND TAKE A LOOK AT HOW D.C. LIFE IS AND WHAT ADVENTAGES THIS KIDS GO ON FOR THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR.....

I half saw Mr. Spinney's interview on TV the other morning and was very intrigued with the idea of the book. Having grown up (and actually recently watched a few episodes of) Sesame Street, I decided to buy the book to read on a business trip. With a title like "The Wisdom of Big Bird," many things came to my mind. I was really expecting a somewhat light-hearted "7 Habits"-type book with excerpts from past Sesame episodes explaining the philosophical ideals. This was not the case - Little did I know that Spinney (with the help of J. Milligan) would expertly tell his life with an "inside-view" as the world's best-known educational Muppet. With his tasteful reminisces of the late Henson & Mr. Hooper, Spinney brought back the memories of an era and provided me with an adult illustration of a world of pure innocence. The book provides a beautiful look at the beloved Bird and his soul. Thank you Caroll for taking your dreams and making them every child's reality!

Anyone who grew up with Sesame Street, or have kids who grew up with Sesame Street will be fascinated to learn about the man who has brought Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life for over 30 years! Caroll Spinney really is a living legend and he has the stories and wisdom to prove it. This book has funny, inspiring and very touching moments and it just makes you feel good. You can't go wrong with 'The Wisdom of Big Bird.'

The Wisdom of Big Bird is an easy-to-take book about how Sesame Street got started and how it is produced, all from the perspective of the man inside the bird. For instance, I learned that there are no eyeholes in the Big Bird suit, so Spinney has to use a mini-monitor to navigate. Spinney's story of how he met his wife (several times) was entertaining, and I loved the description of the Sesame Street trip to China,with an impromptu limo ride with Bob Hope.Even the drawings are well done, by Spinney himself. Recommended!

Bourbon Street Blues is the second book by Greg Herren and the first of what appears to be a series featuring amateur sleuth Scotty Bradley. Scott, who was given the name Milton by his hippy parents (say his first and last name and you'll understand why he chose to go by Scott), is a personal trainer and sometimes go-go boy. He lives in New Orleans where anything can happen and usually does. He rents an apartment from his lesbian aunts and has a great relationship with his Proud-to-have-a-gay-son parents.

It's Decadence (sometimes referred to as the gay Mardi Gras) in the Big Easy, and Scotty is having a great time. That is, until a former client who vanished a year ago reappears and asks Scott if he can hide at his apartment. "They're after me," he tells Scott at the club where Scott is dancing. Scott thinks his old friend is on drugs and decides to ignore him, but when he gets home, he finds a mysterious computer disk has been slipped into his boot along with his tips for the night. Technophobe Scott doesn't have a computer, so he heads out in the wee hours of the morning to use his friend's computer. When his friend turns out to be unavailable, he returns home to find an acquaintance dead on his doorstep.

Scott suddenly finds himself in the middle of a plot to destroy New Orleans, a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah according to an extreme right wing gubernatorial candidate. It's up to Scott, his friends, and Frank Sobieski, the sexy FBI agent, to prevent the murder of thousands of people.

Author Greg Herren has created likeable characters that show a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the plot doesn't really live up to that promise. I really liked Scotty and his family and friends, and I wanted so badly to like the book as well, but the plot was just so outlandishly unrealistic that it left me feeling a little cheated. I ended up reading it just as escapist fare, since there was no way you could possibly take it as a serious mystery.

The main character is one of those types that you just can't help but like. He comes across as a genuinely good person, but also as very human, as do his friends and family. I especially liked the touches of supernatural that Herren includes in the book; Scott, it turns out, is somewhat psychic. The characters alone kept me reading to the end.

Herren concludes the book with the implication that the series will continue. I'd probably read the next book in the series, just because I liked his characters so much. However, if the plot turns out to be as preposterous as this one, it will probably be the last one I read.

He's every gay man's dream, he's irresistible, he's hot, he's sexy, he's good-looking & muscular, a personal trainer, and a part-time go-go boy. And on top of all that, he has psychic powers that reveal to him visions of some horrible events to come. He goes by the name of Dick Dansoir, but his real name is "Scotty" Bradley. He's a native of New Orleans, where the biggest circuit party, "Southern Decadence", is about to begin. This is the time for Scotty to shine, dance, cruise and be admired. Scotty is going to find out his life is about to change dramatically and it's going to be one unforgettable bumpy ride.

Hold on to your hats! This is a new mystery that you are going to really enjoy. There's one event after another that will keep you flipping the pages so fast you'll get paper cuts. Why has one of Scotty's best clients been shot execution style? Why has an old friend who had disappeared unexpectedly reappeared? What does the discovery of a mystery computer disk mean? And why are corrupt public officials interested in Scotty? Could this good-looking FBI agent be a new love interest for Scotty? And why has this sexy cat burglar sparked an erotic desire in Scotty? There is so much more as the plot gets deeper and deeper in this story. We get an exciting tour of gay life in the French Quarter and a view of its many fascinating characters. The story reaches an exciting climax, and you will find yourself eagerly awaiting the next installment in this new mystery series.

I know I am hooked on this talented author's debut mystery writing. The characters are vividly described and developed so well, you will feel you personally know them. Greg Herren has done a great job in introducing us to his delightful and exciting world of New Orleans, and he now has his work cut out for him. So DON"T STOP NOW, Greg! We Want More! Be sure you DON'T Miss This One!

Joe Hanssen

A sexy, witty fun read. A new voice for a genre in need of new talent.

Though, this book isn't as good as the first part, it's still a good read.In the conclusion Hope and her "friends" are forced out of Fear hall and into a abandon house where "they" are hiding out. In the process, Hope meets a new guy,Chris who isn't very interesting in my opinion, and "Darryl" still can't stop killing. It ended really sad, but I wish R.L. Stine had of written it that Hope went to a mental hospital or something like that. I mean he got the readers to love Hope in the first book and in this one make everything seem like her fault, although it really wasn't since she didn't know what she was doing. The issue of Muliple Personality Disorder, was obviously not researched very well by the author. If you want a more mature and more researched book about MPD I highly recommend "Tell Me Your Dreams" by Sidney Sheldon, it's kinda like this one but it's for more mature readers.

After reading the first I eagerly started this. I read this book in one sitting. (about an hour) This is another great job of writing by Mr. Stine. I thought he was losing his touch. Some of his books were beginning to be about the same thing. But then I read the Fear Hall series. This book did not have as many suprises and twists as the first did, but it still satisfied me.If you read the first and for some reason you haven't read this one then grab a copy and read it immediatly.

I have been a R.L. Stine fan since '95 and I have to say that this was his best book ever. I love the new format he uses to introduce each character and how it kept me guessing the whole time. I would definetly recommend Fear Hall to anyone who is looking for a suspenseful, murder mystery with plenty of twists.

If you love Dottie and John's column in the WSJ on Friday, get this book. If you don't read the column, then get the book and start reading the column. It's full of great information for wine beginners and those who have just a hint of wine snobbery. They helped me with fresh and creative ways to enjoy wine and answer all the basic questions, like what wine goes with this food, or what bottle should I bring to so and so's party.

Brecher and Gaiter may be the luckiest journalists alive. They were able to make their hobby into an integral part of their career in a way that seems to enhance the hobby itself. Neat trick.

In what is essentially an expansion of their weekly WSJ column, Brecher and Gaiter offer warm, unintimidating advice on a variety of wine-related subjects. Reading this book reminds me of the particular joys of learning about wine. There is no downside here. The more you know about what you're pouring, the more you'll enjoy it.

One thing you'll notice is that since this book was published in 1999, the wines listed are pretty much no longer available. As sad as this is (it'd be great to duplicate some of their tastings), this isn't a book that was really about recommending specific wines. Rather, it serves as a reminder that the whole point of wine drinking is the experience.

A wonderful resource for a novice or expert, this book manages to convey the pleasure that is possible in wine appreciation.

I would recommend "Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine" (WSJGtW) as a secondary or tertiary book, after "Wine for Dummies" or "Windows on the World Wine Course" as primary and "The Wine Bible" or "Oxford Companion to Wine" as secondary. The information is worthwhile, there just is not an abundance of it and it is more of a coffee-table book. The writing style is great, much like we would expect from WSJ. The personal notes are entertaining and not overdone, all the while being informative. I did not get a sense of the authors being snobs, as others have noted. I found it informative about the variety of wine types and good wineries to watch for. Enjoyable reading.