The Airborne Microparticle

Book Description

This book is an extensive yet self-contained reference of single microparticle studies as they have been performed for many years by the authors. With the range of theoretical and experimental tools available it has become possible to use the many unique properties of droplets and small particles to investigate phenomena as diverse as, linear and nonlinear optics, solution thermodynamics, gas/solid and gas/liquid chemical reactions, transport properties such as gas phase diffusion coefficients, rate processes in the continuum and non-continuum regimes, trace gas uptake by aerosol droplets related to atmospheric chemistry and ozone depletion, phoretic phenomena, Raman spectroscopy, particle charge, evaporation and condensation processes. Throughout the book the main concern of the authors was to provide the reader with a visualization of the significance and application of the theory by experimental results.

Average customer rating:

Good writing, but not really my type of book

a personal favorite

What an ending!

Christie Delivers a Masterpiece

Christie keeps us guessing once again

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
Agatha Christie
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Christie, Agatha | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Hardcover | Christie, Agatha | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1579126278

Book Description

Considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s most controversial mysteries, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd breaks all the rules of traditional mystery writing. A widow’s suicide has stirred rumors of blackmail, and of a secret lover named Roger Ackroyd, who was found stabbed to death in his study. The case is so unconventional that not even crack detective Hercule Poirot has a clue as to how to solve it.

Customer Reviews:

Good writing, but not really my type of book.......2007-08-19

I've read two of Agatha Christie's books now, and I won't be reading any more. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a very talented writer, but the style of her mysteries just doesn't suit me too well. That's ok, I think she has plenty of fans!

a personal favorite.......2007-08-13

This book was probably about the 15th Agatha Christie Novel I had read and since then I have read almost 15 more- but this remains my favorite. This novel truly reflects Christie's ability to decieve the reader and have you on the edge of your seat. I have many times recomended this book to first time Agathe Christie readers, and have only gotten postive feedback. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a true thriller from beginning to end.

What an ending!.......2007-08-08

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a step outside the traditional framework of a mystery. If you have read Agatha Christie before, you owe it to yourself to read this book. If you have not read Agatha Christie before, I suggest you start with another of her excellent novels first so that you can savor this one all the more.

Christie Delivers a Masterpiece.......2007-08-01

In perhaps, one of the finest of all Hercule Poirot mysteries, Agatha Christie crafts an ingenious plot with nothing less than stunning revelations at the conclusion. Her sheer genius leaves the reader breathless. Set in the small town of Kings Abbot, a retired Hercule Poirot becomes involved in solving the scandalous murder of Roger Ackroyd, the town's richest inhabitant. Unable to stay away from mystery for long, Poirot's interest is piqued and he is easily convinced into joining the investigation. Unlike other stories to follow, this one is narrated by the pleasant voice of Dr. James Sheppard, who chronicles the events and accompanies Poirot in Hastings absence. Clues abound and everyone at Fernly Park is a suspect. Only Poirot seems to understand the meaning of what he sees, not the inspector in charge of the case, the polite Dr. Sheppard or the reader can distinguish the significance or the insignificance of the many clues and converstations laid out in the story. This story in particular, in my opinion ,is a sample of Christie's best writing. The way the the reader is manipulated will be emulated in many novels to follow by other mystery writers. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd comes to a stunning conclusion, while the reader simply shakes their head acknowledging that Poirot is indeed master of the "little gray cells."

Christie keeps us guessing once again.......2007-06-02

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is considered by many to be Agatha Christie's best novel while others consider it fatally flawed due to the nature of the solution to the crime. It's impossible to debate the merits of that argument here without giving away the ending, so we'll move on to a more general discussion of the book and its merits as I see them.

Poirot "retires" to a small village and almost immediately is drawn to investigate two deaths. One is due to an overdose of a sleeping drug, which some call accidental and others call suicide. The other is more obviously murder as the victim has been stabbed to death. Poirot, of course, is called upon to use his little gray cells to solve the crimes. As usual, we meet an interesting array of characters and most of them seem to have had a motive to kill Roger Ackroyd but Poirot eliminates them from consideration one-by-one. Until we come to the murderer, that is. I won't give away the solution but it is the person I thought most likely in the beginning and then let myself drift away from for various reasons.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd deserves its status as one of Christie's best novels. The story is well told, as narrated by the town's doctor, and moves along at a good pace. Poirot is as entertaining as ever, and the characters are interesting enough for you to care what happens to them.

Agatha Christie's Poirot : The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Links/ Cassettes (Bbc Radio Presents - Abridged Edition)

Average customer rating:

A Masterpiece among Christie's Best
The Little Round Man with the Little Grey Cells
The masterpieces among all her books!
My favorite Agatha Christie story by far!
A wonderfully written story with an ending no one expects.

Agatha Christie's Poirot : The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Links/ Cassettes (Bbc Radio Presents - Abridged Edition)
Agatha Christie , John Moffatt , John Woodvine , and Laurence Payne
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0553472623
Release Date: 1994-03-01

Customer Reviews:

A Masterpiece among Christie's Best.......2004-05-16

I have listened to these BBC radio adaptations many times over the last 15 years and am always entertained by the quality of the stories, the actors, and the plots. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is simply a brilliant mystery, one of Agatha's best, with a dozen legitimate suspects and a most ironic ending. This mystery takes place in a village Hercule had retired to to raise "vegetables" and was having a devil of a time at it. But, murder followed Poirot to the country and he did his best to confound the police, the suspects, and even the murderer. "Murder on the Links" is also a wonderful mystery with several suspects and two corpses not one. By the time Poirot and Hastings travel to France in response to a summons from a rich man who was concerned about his safety, the man has been brutally murdered. Captain "Arthur" Hastings plays an active role in this mystery, falling for one of the suspects in a big way. The John Moffatt's portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian wonder, is always classic and is so in both of these stories. I stongly recommend these BBC radio shows to all Agatha Christie fans, especially those that enjoy Hercule Poirot.

The Little Round Man with the Little Grey Cells.......2001-03-01

Hercule Poirot was a short, fat, dapper detective who solved his cases by exercising his "little grey cells".

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was Christie's fourth Poirot novel, while "Murder on the Links" was her second. In both Christie adopts the motif of narrating the story from the point of view of someone who undertakes to assist Poirot in the solution of the mystery. Christie introduces the cast of suspects, gives each of them a dark secret and a motive to lie, and piles up the circumstances in such a way that the flying fickle finger of suspicion points to every one of them at some time or another. She compounds the confusion by supplying false leads and deliberatly glossing over hot clues.

In each case Poirot holds his cards close to his vest, tantalizes the reader/listener with cryptic comments, and finds the most inconsequential-appearing facts to be highly significant. Eventually Poirot airs everyone's dirty laundry, explains his chain of deductive reasoning, reconstructs the crime in all its improbable complexity, and gets a confession. The stories are less mysteries than they are sliding block puzzles. Though extremely short on realism, they are long on entertainment value.

Although the BBC radio play had excellent production values, audio cassette may not be the best way to enjoy a Poirot mystery. I listen to radio plays as I drive on business, and I find the Poirot plays hard to follow because of the large cast of characters and the complexities of plotting. Poirot could probably be enjoyed more readily in print. You could then read, re-read, take time out to mull over the complexities, and follow the story much better. Probably the best way to enjoy Poirot would be to read the story first, and then listen to the radio play.

The masterpieces among all her books!.......1999-11-16

The mystery is beyond our imagination. The background and characters truly victorian, and above all the narrative very gripping! Oh! I am re-reading and every time I enjoy even though I know the mystery! Once again, Poirot at his best with his passion for order and method.

My favorite Agatha Christie story by far!.......1998-10-11

As a Christie addict, having read all of her Poirot and Marple stories many times over, I can only say that "Roger Ackroyd" stands out as the best of the best. Even now, knowing the ending, I enjoy rereading the book, with all the delicious and subtle (but misleading) hints to the grand conclusion. And to the first-time reader, the ending comes as quite a surprise. The fabled Miss Christie leads the reader down so many lovely garden paths before the perfectly logical denouement! Delicious! The audio version is beautifully performed, and does proper justice to the book.

A wonderfully written story with an ending no one expects........1998-03-22

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of the best Agatha Christies stories. The plot is a true Agatha Christie's type: dead body, plenty of suspects, confused police, and shocked family. Brilliant Hercule Poirot solves the murder mystery as well as throwing light upon other little secrets of the victim's family. An unusual ending that no one even suspects gives the story its unrepeatable flavor.

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, August 2000: Edmund Wilson, the famous literary critic, once inquired disdainfully (in an essay explaining his inability to develop the mystery-reading habit), "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" In a single sentence, with its reference to the notorious plot of Agatha Christie's sixth novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, he struck deep at the collective spirit of a community of like-minded souls: the detective fiction readers of the world. Ever since 1926, when the novel in question was first published, helping to insure its author's reputation as the ruling queen of crafty crime, mystery fans have indeed cared. Passionately.

But until the arrival of this provocative rereading of the case, written by a psychoanalyst and translated from the French, it is likely that not one of them ever doubted the validity of the solution as worked out by the redoubtable Hercule Poirot. After all, if the author's own detective had incorrectly followed the clues laid down for him, what kind of unsteady ground was the reader left standing on?

Although Bayard makes it clear that those picking up his book don't necessarily have to return to the original text--he does give a very concise summary of the principal characters and actions of Christie's story--it is an exercise, really a pleasure, that I urge you toward. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is such a landmark of the genre that it is not just a bit of nostalgia, a form of genial time travel, but also a reminder of what the Golden Age of the mystery novel was all about: the matching of wits between writer and reader, with puzzles that truly puzzled and were made all the more satisfying by the operative credo of fair play.

To address the actual plot of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is to risk spoiling the fun. Let's just say there is an English village, King's Abbott, in which a bluff country squire, the much-mentioned Ackroyd, resides until his untimely death, [stabbed] by an unknown assailant. Unfortunately for the murderer--or so one used to think, pre-Pierre Bayard--there is also in the village a retired Belgian police inspector, the unparalleled M. Hercule Poirot. Poirot's celebrated "little grey cells," those he uses to form his theories of a case, steadily power the investigation to its startling conclusion, one that has always been as magnificent for its shock value as for its apparently irrefutable logic. That Professor Bayard's delicate probing of the book's structure manages to turn it convincingly in a fresh direction, toward an actual murderer never even suspected, is a triumph of scholarship that is at once playful and serious.

How we approach classic texts should never be as static an experience as we generally allow it to be, a truth proved anew by Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? It now joins a list of other similarly clever literary treats, among which I include Rex Stout's "Watson Was a Woman" and Frederick Crews's The Pooh Perplex. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

An exciting exploration of a book we think we know, the conventions of the mystery novel, and the act of reading itself. Agatha Christie's classic novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has sparked great debate in the years since its publication in 1926, inspiring cultural critics from Umberto Eco to Roland Barthes to explore its unique construction: a murder mystery in which the murderer appears to be the narrator. In Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?, Pierre Bayard reopens the Ackroyd file. This psychoanalyst-cum-professor of literature examines the details of the case anew and offers an ingenious re-reading of one of the most popular mysteries of all time. Wondering why Hercule Poirot's conclusion about the identity of the murderer has never been questioned, Bayard uses a creative mix of literary theory and psychoanalysis to propose a startling new solution.

Customer Reviews:

Reasons to re-read Christie.......2006-08-22

This book is an exciting analysis and alternative reading of Agatha Christie's masterpiece, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". The aim of the book is not to "improve" on the original by giving a "better" solution. Rather it is to present this (and more generally, any) detective novel in a different light than we, as average readers, are used to and comfortable with. We like to be surprised by a neat unfolding of a solution that we are convinced by, but have not expected. And on this count Christie delivers more often than most writers of detective fiction, and with consummate skill. Bayard's book analyzes how this is accomplished, and then probes further to show that as readers, we have the right to interpret the text in different ways. He comes up with an alternative murderer, and who knows, perhaps Christie herself had built in this ambiguity into her story!

Apart from a discussion of several stories by Christie, Bayard has an awful discussion about delusion (bringing the rating immediately down to 4 stars). But he makes up with an interesting description of Oedipus as a mystery story. Then, the book has several useful end notes, and many of the references are to be found only in French language journals. We, in the English speaking world, are fortunate to have a translation of this book.

The bottom line: after reading Bayard's book, I rushed out to the nearest used book store and got myself a few mysteries by Agatha Christie, including "Roger Ackroyd". And I intend to re-reread these after a gap of over a decade.

A Worthy Analysis.......2003-05-13

First, a warning, Bayard's book contains long discussions of the methods used by Christie to hide the answer in many of her books. As such, it is best suited for Christie readers who have already read those works, or who do not mind having surprises revealed.

Otherwise, Bayard provides a good analysis of how Christie fools her readers, pulling back the curtain to reveal the magician's secrets. His taxonimy of the tricks is useful, although incomplete. This makes it a good guide for an aspiring mystery writer looking to see how Christie worked her magic.

Bayard's psychoanalysis of the crime is a bit more speculative. One can nit-pick his facts and conclusions, but the exercise is itself useful. Appling critical analysis to Christie's solution seems no less absurd than Tey's re-analysis of Richard III in Daughter of Time, the endless books on Jack the Ripper's identity, or decades of English literature classes convinced that the author is the last person to understand the significance of his own works.

In sum, worth reading for those who enjoy learning about the tricks of the mystery writing trade.

Um... what?.......2003-04-26

I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan and a psychology major, so I was given this book as a gift by someone who though I would enjoy it. Wrong! By the time I was done reading it the cover was torn and the binding broken from being hurled against the wall in frustration. First of all, I get it. Second of all, it's this kind of [stuff] that give psychology a bad name. This guy has nothing better to do that rethink one of the greatest mystery novels of all time?..

Bayard doesn't have a clue.......2002-01-08

The idea of a story entering the public domain and giving rise to a variety of interpretations and even, in the case of a mystery novel, to a new ending, is an interesting one. What a pity that Bayard lacks the analytical and writing skills to make a go of it. There is much wrong with this book, but I would like just to point out one glaring error. Bayard's 'solution' depends on Roger Ackroyd admitting the murderer through the french windows in his study. Unfortunately, there were no french windows in the study; they were in the drawing room. The study had sash windows. Although this invalidates Bayard's entire thesis, it is among the least of the problems with this book. The real mystery (more puzzling than anything Ms Christie could have dreamed up) is how this book got published in the first place.

Relax! Bayard affirms the greatness of Agatha Christie........2001-11-06

This book could never have been written by an Anglophone critic, who would treat the French reverence of Agatha Christie with the same bemused condescension as its apotheosis of Jerry Lewis (when Bayard lists the major writers who have discussed 'Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?' (Barthes, Eco, Robbe-Grillet, Perec et al), English-speaking writers are predictably absent). Coming from such an Anglophone culture as I do, it is startling to find Christie discussed not as a slick purveyor of narrow puzzles, but as a great writer of works of art, to be analysed with the same respect as Tolstoy and Flaubert. Bayard can make such claims because of his method - by focusing rigorously on the body of work, the texts and their techniques, and dismissing the irrelevant claims of biography, class, gender, history, context etc., he ironically opens them up, reveals their formal daring, their, their philosophical depth, their proto-post-modernist concern with the reader, the author and the stability of the text. In a comment on Durrenmatt's 'The Pledge' recently, I sarcastically referred to Christie as a modernist; after Bayard's book I stand disgraced.

so although this book's novelty and selling point is the idea that Christie got it wrong, that the solution to her most ingenious and controversial novel doesn't make much sense, it is really a celebration of how Christie got it innovatively right for decades, an achievement that went unnoticed because, as a writer of puzzles, she didn't produce the kind of books that get reread, unlike those of Flaubert and Tolstoy. so Bayard's book is also a celebration of the detective genre, a theoretical analysis of its structures of meaning, showing how they actually undermine their ostensible purpose, the restoration of order and clarity (e.g. the narration of any detective story is always an instance of bad faith, constructing false worlds in order to trick the reader).

The book is also a case for revivifying the waning practice of (specifically Freudian) psychoanalysis, especially in reading literary works - after all, the work of psychoanalysts and detectives, uncovering events in the past by an examination and interpretation of clues or signifcant events, are very similar (ditto literary critics).

Most ambitiously, it is a book about the acts of writing and reading - in a performance of Barthesian magnanimity, Bayard shows how Christie destroys the structures and assumptions of conventional narration, thereby liberating the imaginative and interpretive powers of the reader willing to take up the challenge. In finding links between detective work, theory construction and clinical delusion, Bayard endearingly begins chasing his own tail, and the book will be invaluable to readers of Raymond Queneau.

Book Description

Hercule Poirot Mysteries Series In the quiet village of King's Abbot, a widow's suicide has stirred suspicion and dreadful gossip. There are rumors she murdered her first husband, that she was being blackmailed and that her secret lover was Roger Ackroyd. Then Ackroyd is found murdered and all the members of the household stand to gain from his death. Hercule Poirot, who has retired to King's Abbot to grow vegetable marrows, is reluctantly drawn into finding an extremely clever, and devious killer.

Description in Spanish: Mrs.Ferrari ha muerto víctima de una sobredosis de somníferos. Hace un año, su marido murió al parecer de una gastritis aguda. Carolina Sheppard, la hermana del médico del pueblo, sospecha que fue envenenado. Poco después, Roger Ackroyd, el terrateniente de la villa, aparece muerto con una daga tunecina clavada en la espalda. ¿Estarán las tres muertes relacionadas? ¿Tendrá Carolina razones para sospechar?

Customer Reviews:

Best Detective Novel Ever!.......2000-04-02

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is simply Agatha Christie's materpiece, to many critics, most of them contemporaneous with the publishing of the book, this is the best "guest who kills" ever written.Strongly recommended to those who want to get caught in the spell of the british author. At the end, you will be unavoidably forced to recognize that you could not come up with the correct answer.But don't worry. Neither could I.

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Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H0JFGS

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

ASIN: 0739404636

Product Description

A mystery in christie's great style.

ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION - Volume 1, number 4 - Winter 1977: To Sin Against Systems; Machismo on Byronia; A Simple Outside Job; Missing Item; Backspace; Several Murders of Roger Ackroyd; Time and Hagakure; On the Martian Problem; Q R P

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4th issue

ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION - Volume 1, number 4 - Winter 1977: To Sin Against Systems; Machismo on Byronia; A Simple Outside Job; Missing Item; Backspace; Several Murders of Roger Ackroyd; Time and Hagakure; On the Martian Problem; Q R P
George (editor) (Gary R. Osgood; Martin Gardner; Robert Lee Hawkins; Isaac Asimov; F. M. Busby; Barry Malzberg; Steve Utley; Randall Garrett; George M. Ewing; Ted A. Reynolds) Scithers
Manufacturer: Davis Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KDM74E

Customer Reviews:

4th issue.......2007-03-28

This fourth issue of Asimov's long-running magazine has some great stories like "Heretic In A Balloon" by L. Sprague de Camp. Other authors include Asimov himself, F.M. Busby, Randall Garrett, and Barry Malzberg. This magazine was launched the same year Star Wars was released, and this is the first issue to mention the classic film, as it's reviewed by Charles N. Brown, with 3 black & white stills.

CHRISTIE CLASSICS THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD AND THEN THERE WERE NONE THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION PHILOMEL COTTAGE THREE BL

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CHRISTIE CLASSICS THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD AND THEN THERE WERE NONE THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION PHILOMEL COTTAGE THREE BL
Agatha Christie
Manufacturer: Dodd, Mead & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IOSMG2

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