Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush

Buy Cheap Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush

Buy Low Price From Here Now
Were presidential campaigns always as bitter as they have been in recent years? Or is the current style of campaigning a new political development? In this revised and updated edition of Presidential Campaigns the answers to these questions are clear: the race for the presidency, although at times mean and nasty, has always been an endlessly entertaining and highly-charged spectacle for the American public. This book unveils the whole history of American presidential elections, from the seamless ascent of General George Washington to the bitterly contested election of George W. Bush, bringing these boisterous contests to life in all their richness and complexity. In the old days, Boller shows, campaigns were much rowdier than they are today. Back in the nineteenth century, the invective at election time was exuberant and the mudslinging unrestrained; a candidate might be called everything from a carbuncle-faced old drunkard to a howling atheist. But there was plenty of fun and games, too, with songs and slogans, speeches and parades, all livening up the scene in order to get people to the polls.Presidential Campaigns takes note of the serious side of elections even as it documents the frenzy, frolic and the sleaze. Each chapter contains a brief essay describing an election and presenting "campaign highlights" that bring to life the quadrennial confrontation in all its shame and glory.
With a postscript analyzing the major changes in the ways Americans have chosen their Presidents from Washington's time to the present, Presidential Campaigns gives the reader a full picture of this somewhat flawed procedure. For all of its shortcomings, though, this "great American shindig" is an essential part of the American democratic system and, for better or for worse, tells us much about ourselves.
Readmore

Technical Details

See more technical details

 "A Delicious Summary of All of America's Crazy Seasons" 2008-08-30
By Herbert L Calhoun (Falls Church, VA USA)
As we watch the Democrats and Republicans "square-off" again, Professor Boller has done a Yeoman's job with this classic of American politics, reminding us what this "National crazy season" is all about. Here in one volume, Boller summarizes all but the last four of America's Presidential campaigns: from the first, George Washington's in 1789, to the fortieth, Ronald Reagan's in 1980.



My favorite campaign is the 1876 disputed and brokered election, reminiscent of the "Supreme Court decided" 2000 election. The 1876 election took place in Philadelphia during the Nation's Centennial Year, between two Governors: Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio and Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Arguably this was the most controversial as well as the most defining campaign of all of American History. Hayes a Republican, known for his honesty and integrity and Tilden known as a reformer, squared off over how to deal with the remnants of the Civil War, the primary issue of which was how to end Reconstruction.



Tilden, the Northerner, and a pro-slavery proponent, sympathies lay with the South and with ending Reconstruction and removing Federal troops from occupying the South, thus leaving the South to manage its own affairs -- meaning of course leaving the problem of what to do with the freed slaves up to the white southerners. Under Tilden's formula the slaves were thus to be left to their own devices in a sea of hostile "foaming at the mouth" Southerners still licking their wounds from the lost of the Civil War. Hayes, though a Republican, was not a Radical "pro-freedom" Republican, and thus was only slightly less accommodating to maintaining the Reconstruction status quo than was Tilden.



When the dust settled, both were short of the necessary electoral college votes, with the 20 votes of SC, La., Fa., and Ore. still in doubt -- even though Tilden had garnered a quarter million more votes than Hayes. Tilden needed only one of the outstanding 20 Electoral College votes, while Hayes needed all 20. Yet after the back room haggling ended, a compromise was struck with Hayes declared the winner. Hayes may have won the battle but Tilden won the war: Reconstruction was ended; the ex-slaves were sacrificed in the process; and the "Jim Crow curtain" descended on the U.S. for the next one hundred years.



The book is well-research, written with the flair of a journalist and full of interesting anecdotes and colorful stories.



Five Stars

 "Fun and games with elections" 2006-03-10
By William E. Christensen
This book reminds me again just how much fun the study of history can be. The basic facts of Presidential elections from the beginning to today are solid historical accounts. But they also include the tidbits of electoral trivia that go on in each election, but that are often obscure or unnoticed. This book is both informative and entertaining. I plan to give it as a gift to my opthomologist who is also a history buff. As a retired history professor I look forward to chatting with him during my annual examinations.

 "Delightful Insight to the History of our Elections" 2004-10-18
By John Matlock (Winnemucca, NV)
You wouldn't have recognized the election of 1789. There were no primaries, nominating convention, rival candidates, campaign speeches, or debates on public issues." (All quotes are direct from the book.) Yet the will of the people was perfectly expressed. Everyone simply agreed that Washington had to be the President. Four years later they had political parties, but both of them picked Washington. That was the end of the smooth sailing.



In 1796 Adams and Jefferson remained on friendly terms with each other, but had their supporters do a lot of name calling (sound familiar?). By 1800 Adams was calling Jefferson ... well, read the book. Suffice to say, the American way of politics was in full swing, has continued unabated until now and shows no sign of making significant changes in the future.



I must say that I do miss the rum. When Washington was running for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, there were 391 elgible voters. Washington gave them 160 gallons of rum. It's kind of a wonder just how they could vote.



This is a delightful book. I remember taking American History in college, and that was pretty dull. This reads like a novel, full of interesting anecdotes while conveying the facts as well.

 "A complete chronological history " 2004-10-10
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington To George W. Bush by Paul F. Boller, Jr. is a lively, informative, and often surprising history of American presidential election campaigns. This is a complete chronological history of from the unanimously concented ascent of General george Washionhton, to the divisively contested Gore vs. Bush recall scandal. Presidental Campaigns is a superbly written and presented political history that, in these politically divise days of presential electioneering, deserves as wide a readership as possible among the electorate.

 "Wonderful Information in Bite Sized Chunks" 2004-07-16
By Mark Wade (Dearborn, MI United States)
I own a previous edition of this book. Facinating information about each campaign. You think 2000 was bad? Take a look at 1876 or 1824. I'd offer more in this review, but it's 4 am and I need to get back to sleep.


Images Product

Buy Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush Now

Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush

Buy Cheap Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush

Buy Low Price From Here Now
Were presidential campaigns always as bitter as they have been in recent years? Or is the current style of campaigning a new political development? In this revised and updated edition of Presidential Campaigns the answers to these questions are clear: the race for the presidency, although at times mean and nasty, has always been an endlessly entertaining and highly-charged spectacle for the American public. This book unveils the whole history of American presidential elections, from the seamless ascent of General George Washington to the bitterly contested election of George W. Bush, bringing these boisterous contests to life in all their richness and complexity. In the old days, Boller shows, campaigns were much rowdier than they are today. Back in the nineteenth century, the invective at election time was exuberant and the mudslinging unrestrained; a candidate might be called everything from a carbuncle-faced old drunkard to a howling atheist. But there was plenty of fun and games, too, with songs and slogans, speeches and parades, all livening up the scene in order to get people to the polls.Presidential Campaigns takes note of the serious side of elections even as it documents the frenzy, frolic and the sleaze. Each chapter contains a brief essay describing an election and presenting 'campaign highlights' that bring to life the quadrennial confrontation in all its shame and glory. With a postscript analyzing the major changes in the ways Americans have chosen their Presidents from Washington's time to the present, Presidential Campaigns gives the reader a full picture of this somewhat flawed procedure. For all of its shortcomings, though, this 'great American shindig' is an essential part of the American democratic system and, for better or for worse, tells us much about ourselves.
Readmore

Technical Details

See more technical details

 "A Delicious Summary of All of America's Crazy Seasons" 2008-08-30
By Herbert L Calhoun (Falls Church, VA USA)
As we watch the Democrats and Republicans "square-off" again, Professor Boller has done a Yeoman's job with this classic of American politics, reminding us what this "National crazy season" is all about. Here in one volume, Boller summarizes all but the last four of America's Presidential campaigns: from the first, George Washington's in 1789, to the fortieth, Ronald Reagan's in 1980.



My favorite campaign is the 1876 disputed and brokered election, reminiscent of the "Supreme Court decided" 2000 election. The 1876 election took place in Philadelphia during the Nation's Centennial Year, between two Governors: Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio and Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Arguably this was the most controversial as well as the most defining campaign of all of American History. Hayes a Republican, known for his honesty and integrity and Tilden known as a reformer, squared off over how to deal with the remnants of the Civil War, the primary issue of which was how to end Reconstruction.



Tilden, the Northerner, and a pro-slavery proponent, sympathies lay with the South and with ending Reconstruction and removing Federal troops from occupying the South, thus leaving the South to manage its own affairs -- meaning of course leaving the problem of what to do with the freed slaves up to the white southerners. Under Tilden's formula the slaves were thus to be left to their own devices in a sea of hostile "foaming at the mouth" Southerners still licking their wounds from the lost of the Civil War. Hayes, though a Republican, was not a Radical "pro-freedom" Republican, and thus was only slightly less accommodating to maintaining the Reconstruction status quo than was Tilden.



When the dust settled, both were short of the necessary electoral college votes, with the 20 votes of SC, La., Fa., and Ore. still in doubt -- even though Tilden had garnered a quarter million more votes than Hayes. Tilden needed only one of the outstanding 20 Electoral College votes, while Hayes needed all 20. Yet after the back room haggling ended, a compromise was struck with Hayes declared the winner. Hayes may have won the battle but Tilden won the war: Reconstruction was ended; the ex-slaves were sacrificed in the process; and the "Jim Crow curtain" descended on the U.S. for the next one hundred years.



The book is well-research, written with the flair of a journalist and full of interesting anecdotes and colorful stories.



Five Stars

 "Fun and games with elections" 2006-03-10
By William E. Christensen
This book reminds me again just how much fun the study of history can be. The basic facts of Presidential elections from the beginning to today are solid historical accounts. But they also include the tidbits of electoral trivia that go on in each election, but that are often obscure or unnoticed. This book is both informative and entertaining. I plan to give it as a gift to my opthomologist who is also a history buff. As a retired history professor I look forward to chatting with him during my annual examinations.

 "Delightful Insight to the History of our Elections" 2004-10-18
By John Matlock (Winnemucca, NV)
You wouldn't have recognized the election of 1789. There were no primaries, nominating convention, rival candidates, campaign speeches, or debates on public issues." (All quotes are direct from the book.) Yet the will of the people was perfectly expressed. Everyone simply agreed that Washington had to be the President. Four years later they had political parties, but both of them picked Washington. That was the end of the smooth sailing.



In 1796 Adams and Jefferson remained on friendly terms with each other, but had their supporters do a lot of name calling (sound familiar?). By 1800 Adams was calling Jefferson ... well, read the book. Suffice to say, the American way of politics was in full swing, has continued unabated until now and shows no sign of making significant changes in the future.



I must say that I do miss the rum. When Washington was running for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, there were 391 elgible voters. Washington gave them 160 gallons of rum. It's kind of a wonder just how they could vote.



This is a delightful book. I remember taking American History in college, and that was pretty dull. This reads like a novel, full of interesting anecdotes while conveying the facts as well.

 "A complete chronological history " 2004-10-10
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington To George W. Bush by Paul F. Boller, Jr. is a lively, informative, and often surprising history of American presidential election campaigns. This is a complete chronological history of from the unanimously concented ascent of General george Washionhton, to the divisively contested Gore vs. Bush recall scandal. Presidental Campaigns is a superbly written and presented political history that, in these politically divise days of presential electioneering, deserves as wide a readership as possible among the electorate.

 "Wonderful Information in Bite Sized Chunks" 2004-07-16
By Mark Wade (Dearborn, MI United States)
I own a previous edition of this book. Facinating information about each campaign. You think 2000 was bad? Take a look at 1876 or 1824. I'd offer more in this review, but it's 4 am and I need to get back to sleep.


Images Product

Buy Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush Now

The Fallen

Buy Cheap The Fallen

Buy Low Price From Here Now

Readmore

Technical Details

See more technical details

 "Why the gimmick?" 2009-07-11
By John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA)
Our hero can visualize when people are telling the truth or not. Yet this ability does not really matter. Old fashioned police work carries the day. An interesting story about a survivor, but a puzzle why the author felt the need to add this factor.

 "padding excess!" 2008-12-15
By Moni F.Gil (Spain)
allthough the book has a nice plot, has also padding in excess. Too bad for a book wich could be better.

 "Not quite, this time" 2007-12-05
By Thomas (Bay Area, CA United States)
I am a huge TJP fan, and have read all of his books. Sooner or later any great author hits a lull (which may still be better than what lesser writers offer on their best days). Well, this is his...



The book is not bad. It is just below TJP's standard. Its chief shortcoming is the endless first-person introspection. It slows down the plot, diminishes the richness of the other characters and drags on unforgivably long after the various plot threads have long been resolved and it's time to wrap up. Where was the editor when this happened?



I did finish the book without major regret. Even at his worst, TJP is still, well, ok. But I am looking forward to his return to his usual form.

 "Despite praise elsewhere, I find problems with prose, characterization and plotting" 2007-10-30
By L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)
"The Fallen" is a San Diego-based police procedural (sort of). On the first page of the book, we are told that the protagonist--for I find it very hard to think of him as a hero in any meaningful way--of the book, policeman Robbie Brownlaw, had been tossed out of a sixth floor window by a man he had attempted to save from a fire. Against all reasonable expectations, Brownlaw had survived his fall. Before long, we are told the same thing again, and a few pages farther on, again, and then again and yet again.



From the drum-like repetition of this scene, for the first, oh, say 340 pages of this 369 page paperback novel, I innocently assumed that the title of the book referred to Brownlaw, the man who had fallen out of a window. Thereafter it becomes increasingly clear that the title refers to the individual set up to take the fall as the villain of the piece, the one who has fallen from honor, from truth and from grace is, and always was "The Fallen."



Some Amazon reviewers have praised this book as well-written and well-characterized. I don't see it. In this first person novel, Brownlaw is as endlessly introspective as he is utterly imperceptive. He is a man who knows not joy nor anger nor hate, save as words on a Scrabble board. He goes on and on about love, but love to him is a sort of tepid, passive possessiveness. He is, in fact, a classic portrayal of the kind of person characterized in Yiddish (or as Leo Rosten would say, in Ynglish) as a "nudzh." And everybody else in the book is something of a nudzh, too.



All this is, in its way, a moderately impressive accomplishment, but it is not, I am sure, an accomplishment at which author Parker aimed. Here is a passage which, structurally at least, marks one of the few emotional high points of the book:



"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"I can try." She crossed her pale legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"I came here for a new life. I think there must be more."

"More what?"

"More everything. I know that sounds really shallow but I'm aching inside for something I can't see and can't touch. But I know it's there. It's right there, just past my ability to understand. Just out of reach of my words."

"I'd be happy to help you look for it."

"It's something I want to do alone." [Page 356 of the paperback edition]



"Just out of reach of my words," indeed! And this affectless soap opera dialogue goes on and on.



In another scene, Brownlaw confronts a powerful man in his lair. Now, this is a good, traditional detective story set-up. The most famous and brilliant of all such confrontations is the fateful initial meeting between Sam Spade and the Fat Man in the latter's hotel suite: "I like a man who likes to talk, Mr. Spade." In "The Fallen" a sinister money-man has the opportunity to emulate Gordon Gecko in a "Greed is Good" speech. In the book, alas, Mr. Sinister speaks in the flat tones of the very same self-convinced voice that characterizes Brownlaw and everybody else in the book. Just another nudzh.



Here is a speech Painly intended to represent the emotional demolition of one of Parker's characters. The speaker recalls the action that initiated every plot twist of the ensuing mystery:



"It was one of those moments we talked about in my office where everything changes in an instant. It was an impulse. A speculation. I didn't think that what I had imagined would actually happen. The, a few minutes later I ... saw it really was happening. I only had a few seconds to decide. I decided to do the most terrifying thing I'd ever done--nothing. The sounds were quiet but awful, and nobody could hear except me. I knew that I'd sold my soul to the devil.... It was worth it." [Page 346-347]



For all intents and purposes, that is the speaker's suicide note. But do the words and tone carry emotional weight? I think not. I've heard stronger emotion and deeper stress in high school valedictory speeches.



Now let's consider the book's plotting. We readers are given every reason to anticipate a massive confrontation between Brownlaw and a group of shadowy and powerful foes. It may yet come, but this book wraps itself up in a powerful odor of red herrings.



In a subordinate plot line, a sex trade worker has participated in actions we are told (but never shown) that could have disastrous consequences for her. Strangely, neither she nor Brownlaw evidence the slightest hint of worry, even after her action. WHAT were they THINKING?



From that ever-repeated flight out the window, Brownlaw has acquired a synesthesia. After the fall, he is able to see emotions as colors. "... blue triangles generally came from a happy speaker. Red squares came from a deceptive one. Green trapezoids usually came from someone who was envious--green really is the color of envy, just like we were always told.... So I have what amounts to a primitive lie detector, though I'm not certain how reliable it is." [Page 5-6]



Amazon reprints this from Bookmarks Magazine: "Although critics could not decide whether Brownlaw's synesthesia was a gimmicky element or not, they agreed that ..." I can't imagine what puzzled these "critics." Of course it's a gimmick. Here's an easy test. For every passage in which Brownlaw maunders on about seeing red squares emerging from the mouth of a liar, simply substitute something along the lines of "I didn't think he was telling the truth." Having done that, does the change have any effect on the course of the book? The answer, of course, is no.



This is a book of unimpressive prose, flat characterization and indifferent plotting. It's not actually awful, but it's not especially good, either.



A run-of-the-mill three stars.

 "Not a dective novel fan" 2007-10-06
By Kathleen Wagner (SWPA)
But I really enjoyed this novel! I think it popped up when I put synesthesia into Amazon search. I took a chance and bought it.



I really liked this book. The characters were very multidimensional, and intriguing. It had a good ending, something I aways look for in a book.

I have put this on on a shelf, and consider it a keeper.






Images Product

Buy The Fallen Now

The Fallen: A Novel

Buy Cheap The Fallen: A Novel

Buy Low Price From Here Now

A good cop, Robbie Brownlaw was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a downtown hotel and miraculously survived. The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division . . . and a rare neurological condition that enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception . . .

Another good man lies dead in a blood-splattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner, McKenzie Cortez, that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined.

Readmore

Technical Details

See more technical details

 "Why the gimmick?" 2009-07-11
By John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA)
Our hero can visualize when people are telling the truth or not. Yet this ability does not really matter. Old fashioned police work carries the day. An interesting story about a survivor, but a puzzle why the author felt the need to add this factor.

 "padding excess!" 2008-12-15
By Moni F.Gil (Spain)
allthough the book has a nice plot, has also padding in excess. Too bad for a book wich could be better.

 "Not quite, this time" 2007-12-05
By Thomas (Bay Area, CA United States)
I am a huge TJP fan, and have read all of his books. Sooner or later any great author hits a lull (which may still be better than what lesser writers offer on their best days). Well, this is his...



The book is not bad. It is just below TJP's standard. Its chief shortcoming is the endless first-person introspection. It slows down the plot, diminishes the richness of the other characters and drags on unforgivably long after the various plot threads have long been resolved and it's time to wrap up. Where was the editor when this happened?



I did finish the book without major regret. Even at his worst, TJP is still, well, ok. But I am looking forward to his return to his usual form.

 "Despite praise elsewhere, I find problems with prose, characterization and plotting" 2007-10-30
By L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)
"The Fallen" is a San Diego-based police procedural (sort of). On the first page of the book, we are told that the protagonist--for I find it very hard to think of him as a hero in any meaningful way--of the book, policeman Robbie Brownlaw, had been tossed out of a sixth floor window by a man he had attempted to save from a fire. Against all reasonable expectations, Brownlaw had survived his fall. Before long, we are told the same thing again, and a few pages farther on, again, and then again and yet again.



From the drum-like repetition of this scene, for the first, oh, say 340 pages of this 369 page paperback novel, I innocently assumed that the title of the book referred to Brownlaw, the man who had fallen out of a window. Thereafter it becomes increasingly clear that the title refers to the individual set up to take the fall as the villain of the piece, the one who has fallen from honor, from truth and from grace is, and always was "The Fallen."



Some Amazon reviewers have praised this book as well-written and well-characterized. I don't see it. In this first person novel, Brownlaw is as endlessly introspective as he is utterly imperceptive. He is a man who knows not joy nor anger nor hate, save as words on a Scrabble board. He goes on and on about love, but love to him is a sort of tepid, passive possessiveness. He is, in fact, a classic portrayal of the kind of person characterized in Yiddish (or as Leo Rosten would say, in Ynglish) as a "nudzh." And everybody else in the book is something of a nudzh, too.



All this is, in its way, a moderately impressive accomplishment, but it is not, I am sure, an accomplishment at which author Parker aimed. Here is a passage which, structurally at least, marks one of the few emotional high points of the book:



"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"I can try." She crossed her pale legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"I came here for a new life. I think there must be more."

"More what?"

"More everything. I know that sounds really shallow but I'm aching inside for something I can't see and can't touch. But I know it's there. It's right there, just past my ability to understand. Just out of reach of my words."

"I'd be happy to help you look for it."

"It's something I want to do alone." [Page 356 of the paperback edition]



"Just out of reach of my words," indeed! And this affectless soap opera dialogue goes on and on.



In another scene, Brownlaw confronts a powerful man in his lair. Now, this is a good, traditional detective story set-up. The most famous and brilliant of all such confrontations is the fateful initial meeting between Sam Spade and the Fat Man in the latter's hotel suite: "I like a man who likes to talk, Mr. Spade." In "The Fallen" a sinister money-man has the opportunity to emulate Gordon Gecko in a "Greed is Good" speech. In the book, alas, Mr. Sinister speaks in the flat tones of the very same self-convinced voice that characterizes Brownlaw and everybody else in the book. Just another nudzh.



Here is a speech Painly intended to represent the emotional demolition of one of Parker's characters. The speaker recalls the action that initiated every plot twist of the ensuing mystery:



"It was one of those moments we talked about in my office where everything changes in an instant. It was an impulse. A speculation. I didn't think that what I had imagined would actually happen. The, a few minutes later I ... saw it really was happening. I only had a few seconds to decide. I decided to do the most terrifying thing I'd ever done--nothing. The sounds were quiet but awful, and nobody could hear except me. I knew that I'd sold my soul to the devil.... It was worth it." [Page 346-347]



For all intents and purposes, that is the speaker's suicide note. But do the words and tone carry emotional weight? I think not. I've heard stronger emotion and deeper stress in high school valedictory speeches.



Now let's consider the book's plotting. We readers are given every reason to anticipate a massive confrontation between Brownlaw and a group of shadowy and powerful foes. It may yet come, but this book wraps itself up in a powerful odor of red herrings.



In a subordinate plot line, a sex trade worker has participated in actions we are told (but never shown) that could have disastrous consequences for her. Strangely, neither she nor Brownlaw evidence the slightest hint of worry, even after her action. WHAT were they THINKING?



From that ever-repeated flight out the window, Brownlaw has acquired a synesthesia. After the fall, he is able to see emotions as colors. "... blue triangles generally came from a happy speaker. Red squares came from a deceptive one. Green trapezoids usually came from someone who was envious--green really is the color of envy, just like we were always told.... So I have what amounts to a primitive lie detector, though I'm not certain how reliable it is." [Page 5-6]



Amazon reprints this from Bookmarks Magazine: "Although critics could not decide whether Brownlaw's synesthesia was a gimmicky element or not, they agreed that ..." I can't imagine what puzzled these "critics." Of course it's a gimmick. Here's an easy test. For every passage in which Brownlaw maunders on about seeing red squares emerging from the mouth of a liar, simply substitute something along the lines of "I didn't think he was telling the truth." Having done that, does the change have any effect on the course of the book? The answer, of course, is no.



This is a book of unimpressive prose, flat characterization and indifferent plotting. It's not actually awful, but it's not especially good, either.



A run-of-the-mill three stars.

 "Not a dective novel fan" 2007-10-06
By Kathleen Wagner (SWPA)
But I really enjoyed this novel! I think it popped up when I put synesthesia into Amazon search. I took a chance and bought it.



I really liked this book. The characters were very multidimensional, and intriguing. It had a good ending, something I aways look for in a book.

I have put this on on a shelf, and consider it a keeper.






Images Product

Buy The Fallen: A Novel Now

The Fallen: A Novel

Buy Cheap The Fallen: A Novel

Buy Low Price From Here Now

A good cop, Robbie Brownlaw was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a downtown hotel and miraculously survived. The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division . . . and a rare neurological condition that enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception . . .

Another good man lies dead in a blood-splattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner, McKenzie Cortez, that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined.

Readmore

Technical Details

See more technical details

 "Why the gimmick?" 2009-07-11
By John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA)
Our hero can visualize when people are telling the truth or not. Yet this ability does not really matter. Old fashioned police work carries the day. An interesting story about a survivor, but a puzzle why the author felt the need to add this factor.

 "padding excess!" 2008-12-15
By Moni F.Gil (Spain)
allthough the book has a nice plot, has also padding in excess. Too bad for a book wich could be better.

 "Not quite, this time" 2007-12-05
By Thomas (Bay Area, CA United States)
I am a huge TJP fan, and have read all of his books. Sooner or later any great author hits a lull (which may still be better than what lesser writers offer on their best days). Well, this is his...



The book is not bad. It is just below TJP's standard. Its chief shortcoming is the endless first-person introspection. It slows down the plot, diminishes the richness of the other characters and drags on unforgivably long after the various plot threads have long been resolved and it's time to wrap up. Where was the editor when this happened?



I did finish the book without major regret. Even at his worst, TJP is still, well, ok. But I am looking forward to his return to his usual form.

 "Despite praise elsewhere, I find problems with prose, characterization and plotting" 2007-10-30
By L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)
"The Fallen" is a San Diego-based police procedural (sort of). On the first page of the book, we are told that the protagonist--for I find it very hard to think of him as a hero in any meaningful way--of the book, policeman Robbie Brownlaw, had been tossed out of a sixth floor window by a man he had attempted to save from a fire. Against all reasonable expectations, Brownlaw had survived his fall. Before long, we are told the same thing again, and a few pages farther on, again, and then again and yet again.



From the drum-like repetition of this scene, for the first, oh, say 340 pages of this 369 page paperback novel, I innocently assumed that the title of the book referred to Brownlaw, the man who had fallen out of a window. Thereafter it becomes increasingly clear that the title refers to the individual set up to take the fall as the villain of the piece, the one who has fallen from honor, from truth and from grace is, and always was "The Fallen."



Some Amazon reviewers have praised this book as well-written and well-characterized. I don't see it. In this first person novel, Brownlaw is as endlessly introspective as he is utterly imperceptive. He is a man who knows not joy nor anger nor hate, save as words on a Scrabble board. He goes on and on about love, but love to him is a sort of tepid, passive possessiveness. He is, in fact, a classic portrayal of the kind of person characterized in Yiddish (or as Leo Rosten would say, in Ynglish) as a "nudzh." And everybody else in the book is something of a nudzh, too.



All this is, in its way, a moderately impressive accomplishment, but it is not, I am sure, an accomplishment at which author Parker aimed. Here is a passage which, structurally at least, marks one of the few emotional high points of the book:



"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"I can try." She crossed her pale legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"I came here for a new life. I think there must be more."

"More what?"

"More everything. I know that sounds really shallow but I'm aching inside for something I can't see and can't touch. But I know it's there. It's right there, just past my ability to understand. Just out of reach of my words."

"I'd be happy to help you look for it."

"It's something I want to do alone." [Page 356 of the paperback edition]



"Just out of reach of my words," indeed! And this affectless soap opera dialogue goes on and on.



In another scene, Brownlaw confronts a powerful man in his lair. Now, this is a good, traditional detective story set-up. The most famous and brilliant of all such confrontations is the fateful initial meeting between Sam Spade and the Fat Man in the latter's hotel suite: "I like a man who likes to talk, Mr. Spade." In "The Fallen" a sinister money-man has the opportunity to emulate Gordon Gecko in a "Greed is Good" speech. In the book, alas, Mr. Sinister speaks in the flat tones of the very same self-convinced voice that characterizes Brownlaw and everybody else in the book. Just another nudzh.



Here is a speech Painly intended to represent the emotional demolition of one of Parker's characters. The speaker recalls the action that initiated every plot twist of the ensuing mystery:



"It was one of those moments we talked about in my office where everything changes in an instant. It was an impulse. A speculation. I didn't think that what I had imagined would actually happen. The, a few minutes later I ... saw it really was happening. I only had a few seconds to decide. I decided to do the most terrifying thing I'd ever done--nothing. The sounds were quiet but awful, and nobody could hear except me. I knew that I'd sold my soul to the devil.... It was worth it." [Page 346-347]



For all intents and purposes, that is the speaker's suicide note. But do the words and tone carry emotional weight? I think not. I've heard stronger emotion and deeper stress in high school valedictory speeches.



Now let's consider the book's plotting. We readers are given every reason to anticipate a massive confrontation between Brownlaw and a group of shadowy and powerful foes. It may yet come, but this book wraps itself up in a powerful odor of red herrings.



In a subordinate plot line, a sex trade worker has participated in actions we are told (but never shown) that could have disastrous consequences for her. Strangely, neither she nor Brownlaw evidence the slightest hint of worry, even after her action. WHAT were they THINKING?



From that ever-repeated flight out the window, Brownlaw has acquired a synesthesia. After the fall, he is able to see emotions as colors. "... blue triangles generally came from a happy speaker. Red squares came from a deceptive one. Green trapezoids usually came from someone who was envious--green really is the color of envy, just like we were always told.... So I have what amounts to a primitive lie detector, though I'm not certain how reliable it is." [Page 5-6]



Amazon reprints this from Bookmarks Magazine: "Although critics could not decide whether Brownlaw's synesthesia was a gimmicky element or not, they agreed that ..." I can't imagine what puzzled these "critics." Of course it's a gimmick. Here's an easy test. For every passage in which Brownlaw maunders on about seeing red squares emerging from the mouth of a liar, simply substitute something along the lines of "I didn't think he was telling the truth." Having done that, does the change have any effect on the course of the book? The answer, of course, is no.



This is a book of unimpressive prose, flat characterization and indifferent plotting. It's not actually awful, but it's not especially good, either.



A run-of-the-mill three stars.

 "Not a dective novel fan" 2007-10-06
By Kathleen Wagner (SWPA)
But I really enjoyed this novel! I think it popped up when I put synesthesia into Amazon search. I took a chance and bought it.



I really liked this book. The characters were very multidimensional, and intriguing. It had a good ending, something I aways look for in a book.

I have put this on on a shelf, and consider it a keeper.






Images Product

Buy The Fallen: A Novel Now

The Fallen

Buy Cheap The Fallen

Buy Low Price From Here Now

A good cop, Robbie Brownlaw was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a downtown hotel and miraculously survived. The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division . . . and a rare neurological condition that enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception . . .

Another good man lies dead in a blood-splattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner, McKenzie Cortez, that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined.

Readmore

Technical Details

- ISBN13: 9780060562397
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
See more technical details

 "Why the gimmick?" 2009-07-11
By John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA)
Our hero can visualize when people are telling the truth or not. Yet this ability does not really matter. Old fashioned police work carries the day. An interesting story about a survivor, but a puzzle why the author felt the need to add this factor.

 "padding excess!" 2008-12-15
By Moni F.Gil (Spain)
allthough the book has a nice plot, has also padding in excess. Too bad for a book wich could be better.

 "Not quite, this time" 2007-12-05
By Thomas (Bay Area, CA United States)
I am a huge TJP fan, and have read all of his books. Sooner or later any great author hits a lull (which may still be better than what lesser writers offer on their best days). Well, this is his...



The book is not bad. It is just below TJP's standard. Its chief shortcoming is the endless first-person introspection. It slows down the plot, diminishes the richness of the other characters and drags on unforgivably long after the various plot threads have long been resolved and it's time to wrap up. Where was the editor when this happened?



I did finish the book without major regret. Even at his worst, TJP is still, well, ok. But I am looking forward to his return to his usual form.

 "Despite praise elsewhere, I find problems with prose, characterization and plotting" 2007-10-30
By L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)
"The Fallen" is a San Diego-based police procedural (sort of). On the first page of the book, we are told that the protagonist--for I find it very hard to think of him as a hero in any meaningful way--of the book, policeman Robbie Brownlaw, had been tossed out of a sixth floor window by a man he had attempted to save from a fire. Against all reasonable expectations, Brownlaw had survived his fall. Before long, we are told the same thing again, and a few pages farther on, again, and then again and yet again.



From the drum-like repetition of this scene, for the first, oh, say 340 pages of this 369 page paperback novel, I innocently assumed that the title of the book referred to Brownlaw, the man who had fallen out of a window. Thereafter it becomes increasingly clear that the title refers to the individual set up to take the fall as the villain of the piece, the one who has fallen from honor, from truth and from grace is, and always was "The Fallen."



Some Amazon reviewers have praised this book as well-written and well-characterized. I don't see it. In this first person novel, Brownlaw is as endlessly introspective as he is utterly imperceptive. He is a man who knows not joy nor anger nor hate, save as words on a Scrabble board. He goes on and on about love, but love to him is a sort of tepid, passive possessiveness. He is, in fact, a classic portrayal of the kind of person characterized in Yiddish (or as Leo Rosten would say, in Ynglish) as a "nudzh." And everybody else in the book is something of a nudzh, too.



All this is, in its way, a moderately impressive accomplishment, but it is not, I am sure, an accomplishment at which author Parker aimed. Here is a passage which, structurally at least, marks one of the few emotional high points of the book:



"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"I can try." She crossed her pale legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"I came here for a new life. I think there must be more."

"More what?"

"More everything. I know that sounds really shallow but I'm aching inside for something I can't see and can't touch. But I know it's there. It's right there, just past my ability to understand. Just out of reach of my words."

"I'd be happy to help you look for it."

"It's something I want to do alone." [Page 356 of the paperback edition]



"Just out of reach of my words," indeed! And this affectless soap opera dialogue goes on and on.



In another scene, Brownlaw confronts a powerful man in his lair. Now, this is a good, traditional detective story set-up. The most famous and brilliant of all such confrontations is the fateful initial meeting between Sam Spade and the Fat Man in the latter's hotel suite: "I like a man who likes to talk, Mr. Spade." In "The Fallen" a sinister money-man has the opportunity to emulate Gordon Gecko in a "Greed is Good" speech. In the book, alas, Mr. Sinister speaks in the flat tones of the very same self-convinced voice that characterizes Brownlaw and everybody else in the book. Just another nudzh.



Here is a speech Painly intended to represent the emotional demolition of one of Parker's characters. The speaker recalls the action that initiated every plot twist of the ensuing mystery:



"It was one of those moments we talked about in my office where everything changes in an instant. It was an impulse. A speculation. I didn't think that what I had imagined would actually happen. The, a few minutes later I ... saw it really was happening. I only had a few seconds to decide. I decided to do the most terrifying thing I'd ever done--nothing. The sounds were quiet but awful, and nobody could hear except me. I knew that I'd sold my soul to the devil.... It was worth it." [Page 346-347]



For all intents and purposes, that is the speaker's suicide note. But do the words and tone carry emotional weight? I think not. I've heard stronger emotion and deeper stress in high school valedictory speeches.



Now let's consider the book's plotting. We readers are given every reason to anticipate a massive confrontation between Brownlaw and a group of shadowy and powerful foes. It may yet come, but this book wraps itself up in a powerful odor of red herrings.



In a subordinate plot line, a sex trade worker has participated in actions we are told (but never shown) that could have disastrous consequences for her. Strangely, neither she nor Brownlaw evidence the slightest hint of worry, even after her action. WHAT were they THINKING?



From that ever-repeated flight out the window, Brownlaw has acquired a synesthesia. After the fall, he is able to see emotions as colors. "... blue triangles generally came from a happy speaker. Red squares came from a deceptive one. Green trapezoids usually came from someone who was envious--green really is the color of envy, just like we were always told.... So I have what amounts to a primitive lie detector, though I'm not certain how reliable it is." [Page 5-6]



Amazon reprints this from Bookmarks Magazine: "Although critics could not decide whether Brownlaw's synesthesia was a gimmicky element or not, they agreed that ..." I can't imagine what puzzled these "critics." Of course it's a gimmick. Here's an easy test. For every passage in which Brownlaw maunders on about seeing red squares emerging from the mouth of a liar, simply substitute something along the lines of "I didn't think he was telling the truth." Having done that, does the change have any effect on the course of the book? The answer, of course, is no.



This is a book of unimpressive prose, flat characterization and indifferent plotting. It's not actually awful, but it's not especially good, either.



A run-of-the-mill three stars.

 "Not a dective novel fan" 2007-10-06
By Kathleen Wagner (SWPA)
But I really enjoyed this novel! I think it popped up when I put synesthesia into Amazon search. I took a chance and bought it.



I really liked this book. The characters were very multidimensional, and intriguing. It had a good ending, something I aways look for in a book.

I have put this on on a shelf, and consider it a keeper.






Images Product

Buy The Fallen Now

Haircutting for Dummies

Buy Cheap Haircutting for Dummies

Buy Low Price From Here Now
Features tips for trimming and treating hair

Let the scissors fly and cut hair at home

Do you want to cut and style your family’s hair, but don’t know where to begin? Relax! This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to get salon- or barbershop-quality results on all types of hair – long, short, straight, curly, or kinky. You’ll discover how to care for your tools and maintain a haircut while you trim big dollars off your budget.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Readmore

Technical Details

- ISBN13: 9780764554285
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
See more technical details

 "Disappointed" 2009-09-03
By Sandy Sea (Florida)
I cut my husband's hair, and was looking for some good direction for cutting and blending the back of mens hair, especially neckline and around the ears. This book could have been ever so much better if there were photos of actual hair cutting...how the hands are positioned, how the scissors are positioned, how the hair is actually held, what direction to cut in, etc.



The book contains mostly drawings of cutting guides and how you should part the hair to do the cutting. I think these drawings are more beneficial for professionals. And although there are one or two drawings of the things I think would be most helpful (described above), they do not take place of photos (or series of photos) actually showing how it is done. The few photos that are included are of finished styles.



While I did get one great tip from it, this book is not that helpful for people at home cutting their family's hair. I have liked other "Dummies" books, but I feel like I wasted my money on this one.

 "Great book" 2009-07-23
By S. Scheer (Fenton, MO)
Great step by step book. The pictures of the models helped me. If you want this result, do this cut.

 "Great book but needs more pictures/illustrations!!" 2009-05-03
By E. Marsh
This book is packed full of information! I am looking to become a hairstylist and wanted to learn more about the field (maybe even cut a friend's hair) to feel it out. It covers all the basics from shampoo to styling and everything in between. It also has plenty of cuts to choose from. My only complaint is the lack of pictures! Im a hands on and visual learner so seeing is always better to comprehend than just reading! Definately worth the money but I recommend getting an additional book on haircutting with more pictures as it would help out those just starting to cut hair.

 "Lots of Necessary Information for Beginners" 2008-12-29
By Nuknuk (Springfield, VA United States)
This book is not bad at all for a haircut dummy like myself. For a start, my motivation is not to be a hair cutting expert but just to cut or trim my kids' hair to save some money for our household. Although it is not the ultimate beginners' book, it still has lots of necessary information for the novices. It discussed all different kind of tools for the trade, what is recommended and what to stay away from. The different types of hairs and how to deal with them. It gives suggestion for a number of good places to study and a number useful internet links to visit on the web.



I like the style of the Dummies books. The typical insertion of some comic funnies is kinda refreshing to keep you interested when you get into parts that are kinda boring. They emphasize some of the things that you need to remember or point out things that you need to be cautious about with symbols or icons.



There are many pictures in the book but some instructions that probably more importantly need to be shown visually are not available. I would like to be shown more about how to position your hands and fingers at different angles. I did enjoy reading this book; but in the end, it still not feel as satisfying that I have read the best instructional book.

 "Excellent" 2008-04-23
By T. Andrews (Escalon, Ca)
I found this book to be the perfect review having been out of the business for sometime now. But it's actually an excellent self learning tool for anyone wanting to know how to cut hair with or without previous experience.


Images Product

Buy Haircutting for Dummies Now