Cracker; Florida's Enduring Cowboys

Book Description

In 1521, Spainish explorers landed on the Flordia coast, bringing with them cattle as a mobile food supply. The men tht cared for these Andalusain cattle evolved into America's first cowboys, the Florida Cracker Cowman.

Customer Reviews:

CARL, WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!?!.......1999-06-10

I have read every book Carl has written and I keep waiting for the next one, the new novel to come out. Carl, I miss you! Please put a new book out for us. No one does it better. Do you hear me, Carl? HURRY please because I'm going through Hiaasen Withdrawal!

A picture of Florida forgotten...a must have!.......1999-05-03

Having had the forune of being born and raised in Florida's...pre theme park era, I have had the luxury of experiencing an evolving FLORIDA.

Jon Kral's photo journalistic approach to capturing a little known, and almost forgotten quality of Florida is remarkable. Not only for the absolute thought provoking images, but what they represent...where we are from...and where we are going.

From the images of the Kissimmee round up and cattle drive, to those of a lone horseman at the end of the day...one is left with a new sense of what the true Florida was...and remains today.

The images range from brutally honest, to surrealistic, yet each conveys it's message clearly...provoking the human spirit and emotion.

This approach to a "land forgotten" should be high on one's list to view. Jon Kral touches not only the meaning of the past...but how it drives the future.

Great Review in Dec. 15,'98 BookList.......1998-12-20

"Kral captures (the cowboys) laboring and relaxing in rich monochrome photos that, when meticulously focused and organized, sometimes echo the sculptural quality of Ansel Adams' work, and when more softly focused and granier, resemble impressionist paintings in-oddly enough-black and white." Ray Olson, BookList

See The Works in Black and White!.......1998-12-13

I'm a Welshman who has ranched in Florida for nine years, and I can tell you this is indeed a remarkable book of atmospheric photographs concerning the life of the Florida cowboy. It is a creation that colour could not do, building up a fascinating, fantastic reality in an unique way. I salute the author for his originality. I bought four copies, kept one and sent the rest to my kids across the Pond, sayin', "Y'all better come an' see your ol' pop, Florida ain't what ya think it is!"

Wonderful Insight into the Life of the Florida Cowby.......1998-11-20

Jon Kral has created a beautiful picture story of the life of the Florida "Cracker". Words are not necessary when the picures tell the story, Kral has insight into the life of the cowboy, and it is obvious that he loved every minute of photgraphing the men at work and at home. He put the book together with love of each and every picture. Readers will be surprised and amazed at the cattle country in Florida. We forget that there is more to this state than Walt Disney and Interstate Highways. This book will make the reader want to take a car trip to the Cowboy Country and see the country in person.

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Paradise Screwed by Carl Hiaasen
Witty and biting, but dated and geo-specific
Even Better Than His Best Novels
A crusader with a sense of humour
What Michael Moore is to the nation, Hiaasen is to Florida

Paradise Screwed
Carl Hiaasen
Manufacturer: G. P.Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0399147918
Release Date: 2001-10-11

Book Description

"Reminiscent of the snarky, opinionated newspaper articles of the great Mark Twain, Hiaasen's columns are finely crafted little gems." (Booklist)

Carl Hiaasen takes you on a wide-ranging safari, observing south Florida's wildlife in its natural habitat-from fat-cat politicians to migrating mobsters, drowning dolphins to stray chads. This collection of Miami Herald columns-written with a satiric wit and biting humor-will give Hiaasen fans a glimpse of the facts that inspire his frenetic fiction.

Harking back to the muckraking journalists of old, Hiaasen lets readers in on the comings and goings of corrupt local politicos, misguided tourist bureaus, and flailing sports franchises. He tackles such current events as the Elian Gonzalez imbroglio and the 2000 presidential election recount. All in all, more than two hundred columns chronicle the everyday circus that gives south Florida a flavor and a flair all its own.

Since 1985, Hiaasen's twice-weekly, "baseball-bat-to-the-forehead" column has given the average citizen a voice. A staunch defender of his native state, Hiaasen isn't afraid to take anyone on, including environmental despoilers, Big Tobacco, and the NRA. But as proven in his first collection of columns, Kick Ass, his righteous rage and spirited wit resonate far beyond the Sunshine State-and show readers a world-class journalist in his element.

Edited by Diane Stevenson.

Download Description

New York Times bestselling author Carl Hiaasen takes you on a wide-ranging safari of South Florida's wildlife in its natural habitat-from fat-cat politicians to migrating mobsters, drowning Dolphins to stray chads. This collection of Miami Herald columns-written with a satiric wit and biting humor-will give Hiaasen fans a glimpse of the facts that inspire-and prove far stranger than-his frenetic fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Paradise Screwed by Carl Hiaasen.......2007-01-11

My husband got this book from the library and all I heard was him laughing while he read it. We bought it for my daughter who lives in Florida and is an environmental science teacher. Before giving it to her during a recent visit, I had to read it. I too laughed like crazy. Carl has a way of putting all the bad stuff people have done to the state of Florida in a humorous manner but gets his point across at the same time.

Witty and biting, but dated and geo-specific.......2005-06-28

I have read several of Hiaasen's novels and have enjoyed them immensely. From reading this collection of his columns, I now know where he gets many of his ideas for characters and ridiculous plotlines. Truth is truly stranger than fiction in South Florida! Developers run amok, politicians are on the take from everyone, criminals of all stripes don't even bother to hide what they're doing. Hiaasen exposes it all in his inimitably sarcastic way. I did enjoy many of the columns and appreciated Hiaasen's skill. However, most of the columns were from several years ago, with many of them being from the 80s. Also, not having spent a lot of time in South Florida, I couldn't always relate to the issues at hand. I would probably have been satisfied with a collection half as long. But I did enjoy reading about the madness that is life as usual in South Florida.

Even Better Than His Best Novels.......2004-04-03

I wish I could say I was a rabid Carl Hiaasen fan like a lot of people who seem to love all of his novels, because I love to read and love good writing, and Hiaasen's writing style is always excellent. I loved "Tourist Season", "Sick Puppy", and "Stormy Weather", but thought that he was pushing it a little in some of his other novels like "Lucky You" and "Native Tongue" where the plots were, at least in my opinion a little contrived. So when I got this book, which is a collection of his newspaper articles for the Miami Herald, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about it.
It's excellent! I thought his best novels were very good but his true calling is his work as a reporter. The articles are meaningful in the way that he exposes corruption and the destruction of Florida's natural resources, but they're written with a great sarcastic wit. I know a little about South Florida politics and environmental issues, because we always vacation in Key West and you get the news on television from Miami, but you don't need to in order to enjoy this book tremendously. There are too many great articles in this collection to name them all, but the one about the "Incredible Shrinking Palm Trees" in particular is one of the funniest things I've ever read. This book is better than even his best novels, and the shame of it is that all of it is [unfortunately] true.

A crusader with a sense of humour.......2002-12-06

I love this man's writing! I started with his fiction and having devoured all there was of that at the time I stumbled on his first book of Miami Herald columns. I bought Paradise Screwed as soon as it was out.
The really exciting thing about Carl is that he takes on the corruption and the sleaze and the bizarre goings on in Florida and makes people aware of them through witty yet hard hitting writing. He isn't afraid to make waves and when you read this book you will begin to wonder about the greasing of the wheels in State politics.
He is passionate about his home state and what is happening to it and as a visitor to Florida on more than one occassion, he has really made me think about the affects of inconsiderate development and tourism.
But even if you aren't keen on any of that, the columns are clever and well written, so it's well worth the read.

What Michael Moore is to the nation, Hiaasen is to Florida.......2002-03-25

Another collection of "baseball-bat-to-the-forehead" columns in a similar writing style as Moore. Both men use biting satire and their wicked wit to tell you what they think, and are unafraid in doing so. Hiaasen is even more impressive I think because his substantive job is still journalism and yet he can find humor in real people and events as easily as in fiction.

These columns are a selection from over the last 20 years of events in South Florida. You don't have to go back any further than 2 years to Elian Gonzalez and the 2000 presidential election to know that there's enough grist-for-the-mill here to fill much more than one book on these two topics alone. Nevertheless Hiaasen reins himself in and spreads his verbal darts around. Topics covered include "Mayor loco", the soon-to-be-gone Marlins, Chads (not a person, those bits of paper, remember?) Dolphins (both the team and the ones that frequently drown offshore), Race Riots, a con artist doctor and a pet-hating extortionist. That's the more exotic stuff. Then there's the normal South Florida fare of crooked politicians, stupid state officials, assorted mobsters and mafia, drugs, guns, and general mayhem and madness. As Hiaasen said in a recent interview "all the paths of slime and disreputability seem to lead here."

The man is a Florida treasure and for those of us who live through what he writes about his humor is a saving grace. Very few of us can express it the way he does so he is our voice of reason saying yes, it's PARADISE SCREWED allright, but we're still alive we can laugh about it.

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The more Hiassen the better!

A Carl Hiaasen Collection
Carl Hiaasen
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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The Carl Hiaasen Collection: Lucky You and Sick Puppy

Nature Girl

Basket Case

Lucky You

Sick Puppy

ASIN: 0375410465
Release Date: 2000-01-04

Book Description

Read by Ed Asner
Six Cassettes, 9 hours

Contains:
Tourist Season
Stormy Weather
Strip Tease

This collection contains three classic Hiaasen titles. The set is 40% off the individual retail price of the audiobook.

Tourist Season
The only trace of the first victim was his Shriner's fez washed up on the Miami Beach. The second victim, the head of the city's chamber of commerce, was found dead with a toy alligator lodged in his throat. And that was just the beginning ...
Now Brian Keyes, reporter turned private eye, must move from muckraking to rooting out murder ... in a caper that will mix football players, politicians, and police with a group of anti-development fanatics and a very, hungry crocodile.

Stormy Weather
When a ferocious hurricane rips through Southern Florida, the con artists and carpetbaggers waste no time swarming over the disaster area.
Among the predators are Edie Marsh, an entrepreneurial young woman whose scheme to sleep with a Palm Beach Kennedy has fizzled, freeing her to concoct a colossal insurance rip-off; Lester Maddox Parsons, a murderous ex-con whose violent encounter with a game warden has left him with the fitting nickname of "Snapper"; and Avila, a crooked building inspector-turned-roofer, who dabbles somewhat unsuccessfully in the occult.

Caught in the middle are Max and Bonnie Lamb, newlyweds torn in wildly different directions by the storm. It is Max's fateful decision to abort their Disney World honeymoon and race to Dade County to see the terrible devastation. Armed with a video camera, the ambitious young advertising executive can't wait to show his hurricane tapes to his buddies back in New York. Over Bonnie's objections, Max eagerly sets out through the rubble, debris, and mayhem -- and promptly vanishes. The only clue to his whereabouts: a runaway monkey. But there's also a man called Skink who has devoted his very strange existence to saving Florida from the kinds of people blown in by the hurricane. It is he, crazed and determined, who prowls the swath of the storm and forever changes the lives of Max, Bonnie, Edie, and the others.

Their paths -- tangled before they even know it -- come together in a novel that continues the hilarious and scathing muckraking tradition that Carl Hiaasen has so mercilessly made his own. In Stormy Weather, there is no calm eye.

Strip Tease
Only in America could the guest of honor at a bachelor party become a mortal threat to Big Stoney and Big Government. Only in South Florida could a virtuous topless dancer join forces with a cool but clueless cop. And only in a work by Carl Hiaasen could we get riveting suspense, razor-sharp characters, and the most wicked humor imaginable.

Customer Reviews:

The more Hiassen the better!.......2000-04-02

If you've never read (or heard) a Carl Hiassen book, you're in for a treat. In this case, several. Ed Asner's raspy, world-weary voice is the perfect medium for Hiassen's skewed view on life (specifically life in Florida) as he knows it. You'll laugh, you'll wince, you'll wonder what fools these mortals be. Don't worry, Hiassen and Asner will be glad to tell you.

The Carl Hiaasen Collection: Lucky You and Sick Puppy

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The Carl Hiaasen Collection: Lucky You and Sick Puppy
Carl Hiaasen
Manufacturer: RH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739340824
Release Date: 2006-06-06

The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (The Best American Series)

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The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (The Best American Series)

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618812652

Book Description

The Best American Mystery Stories is consistently a great success--we have out 30,000 copies of the 2006 paperback edition after just one month on the shelves. Little wonder, given the power of the BEST AMERICAN brand, the talents of series editor Otto Penzelr, and the high profile of the guest editors, including acclaimed author Carl Hiaasen for the 2007 edition.

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Wonderfully entertaining
Not his best
Turning the crank
Good read
Not bad

Skinny Dip (Radio Collection)
Carl Hiaasen
Manufacturer: BBC Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0563526572

Amazon.com

Charles "Chaz" Perrone fancies himself a take-charge kind of guy. So when this "biologist by default" suspects that his curvaceous wife, Joey, has stumbled onto a profitable pollution scam he's running on behalf of Florida agribusiness mogul Red Hammernut, he sets out right away to solve the problem--by heaving Joey off the deck of a luxury cruise liner and into the Atlantic Ocean, far from Key West. But--whoops!--Joey, a former swimming champ, doesn't drown. Instead, as Carl Hiaasen tells in his 10th adult novel, Skinny Dip, she makes her way back to shore, thanks both to a wayward bale of Jamaican marijuana and lonerish ex-cop Mick Stranahan (Skin Tight, 1989), and then launches a bogus blackmail campaign that's guaranteed to drive her lazy, libidinous hubby into a self-protective frenzy.

You've got to hand it to Hiaasen: He's perfected a formula for crisply written, satirical crime fiction that makes the best use of imaginatively repulsive villains, as well as less thoroughly venal scoundrels and victims who ultimately overcome their antagonists, all while stumping for the preservation of Florida's environment, particularly the Everglades. In Skinny Dip, we find Chaz (who'd rather be golfing than puttering around the "hot, buggy, funky-smelling and treacherous" reaches of nature) falsifying water samples to help Hammernut turn the 'Glades into "God's septic tank." That scheme, though, is endangered not just by Joey's sudden disappearance, but by the suspicions of a python-loving police detective and Chaz's own outstanding inability to tame his Viagra-enhanced tumescence. Even by assigning Chaz a baby-sitter--the hulking, hirsute, and painkiller-addicted Tool--Hammernut can't keep his pet biologist out of trouble. As Joey and Stranahan unfold their revenge plot, and Tool's conscience grows in competition with Chaz's ego, the reader can only marvel at the extent of the train wreck ahead.

As much fun as Hiaasen has delivering Chaz his climactic comeuppance, what's missing from Skinny Dip is a more complex, more credible development of Mick Stranahan's character and the relationship he builds with the much younger Joey Perrone. Like Erin Grant, from Strip Tease, Joey has far more going for her than her bra-cup size; but "hero" Stranahan is of far less interest here than any of his fellow players. --J. Kingston Pierce

Download Description

Chaz Perrone might be the only marine scientist in the world who doesn¿t know which way the Gulf Stream runs. He might also be the only one who went into biology just to make a killing, and now he¿s found a way¿doctoring water samples so that a ruthless agribusiness tycoon can continue illegally dumping fertilizer into the endangered Everglades. When Chaz suspects that his wife, Joey, has figured out his scam, he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner into the night-dark Atlantic. Unfortunately for Chaz, his wife doesn¿t die in the fall.

Clinging blindly to a bale of Jamaican pot, Joey Perrone is plucked from the ocean by former cop and current loner Mick Stranahan. Instead of rushing to the police and reporting her husband¿s crime, Joey decides to stay dead and (with Mick¿s help) screw with Chaz until he screws himself.

As Joey haunts and taunts her homicidal husband, as Chaz¿s cold-blooded cohorts in pollution grow uneasy about his ineptitude and increasingly erratic behavior, as Mick Stranahan discovers that six failed marriages and years of island solitude haven¿t killed the reckless romantic in him, we¿re taken on a hilarious, full-throttle, pure Hiaasen ride through the warped politics and mayhem of the human environment, and the human heart.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully entertaining.......2007-10-04

Joey Perrone is beautiful, rich and married -- but none of that helps her to cope when her husband, Chaz, tosses her off a cruise ship on their second anniversary. Fortunately, Joey was a competition-level swimmer back in the day, and the distant lights of the Florida coastline become much more attainable when she bumps into a floating bale of discarded Jamaican marijuana, which makes a pretty good raft when the chips are down.

When she's rescued by remote island dweller and former cop Mick Stanahan, Joey chooses not to contact the authorities about her near-murder. Instead, she decides a little psychological torture is in order while she tries to figure out just why Chaz opted for homicide over a no-fault divorce.

For Chaz, who believes (with good reason) that his wife is dead, there are very few good days in his future.

"Skinny Dip" is a wonderfully entertaining story, and I owe my enjoyment of it all to Ron, a pulmonary technician at Lancaster General Hospital. Ron, upon learning of my fondness for writer Christopher Moore, extolled the wonders of Carl Hiaasen -- all while putting me through a series of rigorous breathing exercises that left me gasping and reaching for a pen to jot down the author's name.

Hiaasen doesn't spin any modern folklore into his stories -- unlike Moore with his vampires, demons, trickster gods and the like -- but otherwise, the two writers could be spiritual twins.

Besides Joey, Chaz and Mick, Hiaasen peoples his story with a colorful array of supporting characters.

Karl Rolvaag is a Minnesota Norwegian cop, miserable living in the Florida heat, who's assigned to the case after Joey "vanishes" from the cruise ship. Red Hammernut is a thuggish Florida businessman/farmer who wants nothing to do with the federal government's efforts to save the Everglades at his expense -- and he's willing to spend a great deal of money and effort to circumvent them. Earl Edward O'Toole, hirsute and beefy, is addicted to pain-relief patches, collects roadside memorials and is willing to thump people as his duty or mood requires. And then there's Maureen, a lonely, feisty old woman, dying of cancer in a nursing home, who's willing to trade her meds for a little company and isn't afraid to get a little tart where bad manners are concerned.

Hiaasen gets extra points in my book for throwing in a few brief but informative rants on the state of the Everglades and the government's too-little, too-late attempts to preserve them. I knew a bit about their all-important natural diversity, but Hiaasen taught me a thing or two about the once-massive swamp's vital impact on both the ecological and economical viability of Florida's southern end.

Heck, a little consciousness-raising rarely goes amiss. In my native Lancaster County, where rich soil, ancient trees and pure water are often sacrificed to the cause of development, it's easy to empathize.

Bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed this refreshing "Skinny Dip" in Hiaasen's imagination, and I am eager to read more from this clever and talented writer. It looks like he's been fairly prolific in recent years, so I expect I won't have to wait too long.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

Not his best.......2007-09-12

This is the weakest Hiaasen novel I have read to date which makes it very good instead of outstanding. If you haven't read it try Native Tongue first then this one

Turning the crank.......2007-09-06

Skinny Dip is a product of the entertaining Hiasen formula engine. A young married woman is unceremoniously dumped off a cruise ship by her husband of two years. She's fortunate to be rescued by a misanthropic retired cop who lives on a tiny island in the Florida Keyes. Yes, her husband is a jerk, but why did he want to kill her?

This book is by no means the strongest of Hiasen's (my favorite remains Native Tongue) but is still entertaining and provides the satisfaction of seeing the nature-hating polluters pay for their crimes.

Good read.......2007-09-02

Skinny dip is an enjoyable read. A man tries to murder his wife but she manages to survive and then tries to find out why he ants her dead.

It is classic Hiaasen- funny, easy to read and very ecological..His characters are well developed. Although very different from each other they tie very well together. For those new to Hiaasen, his style is different, sarcastic at times and adult but without, at any time, being vulgar. HIaasen is a regulal columnist for the Miami-Herald and he is pro-enviromental

This book is, sort of, a sequel to Skin Tight. You do not have to read that book before this one. The only advantage would be that you would understand Mick Stranahan better. You also have a brief apperance of the Governor who is a major character inStormy eather and Sik Puppy.

Not bad.......2007-07-18

The story is a good one...especially for anyone who has ever married a jerk like she did. All of the things she does to get back at him are VERY amusing.
Not entirely impressed with the ending, but still worth reading the book. And the ending wasn't BAD it just wasn't fabulous.

Amazon.com

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashioned chills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --Jim Pascoe

Book Description

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashionedchills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --Jim Pascoe

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A few stand alone stories are in this volume. William Shakespeare produces the first play that Morpheus has requested, and puts on a live performance in the wild for Titania and Auberon.

A man literally gets his muse from another writer, we see the Dream of Cats, and the final fate of an Element Woman who has had enough.

Highly original and beautifully written.......2007-07-17

Gaiman is an original in every sense of the word. The first couple of volumes I read in the "Sandman" series didn't impress me all that much, I have to admit. At least, not uniformly. But the average quality in this one is very high indeed. The four stories all share the theme of dreams, from a novelist enslaving Calliope the muse to provide ideas for his books, to a cat's revelation of what the real world used to be like, to a piece about a woman who only wants to die but can't (the only "comic book" story you'll find here, and the least successful, in my opinion), and the award-winning story of the first performance by Will Shakespeare's company of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- for an audience from Faerie (and that one alone is worth the price of the book).

Dream Country.......2007-07-07

Excellent book, it is a few seperate stories but there is some background of the main characters not to be missed.

I dreamed that this volume didn't exist in the series..........2006-10-20

When one walks into a movie theater, they expect to see a movie. When one walks into a pizzeria, they expect to be served pizza. When one plays paintball, you should expect to be hit by at least one paintball. So, one could draw the conclusion that when one reads any of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, you should expect to be pulled into a bizarre world where your heroine (or dark figure leading the show) happens to be the actual Sandman ... right? Apparently, the answer is closer towards the "no" theory than one could expect. I understand the concept of building a stage and allowing readers to see the entire universe, and not just one small figure, but that isn't why I purchased this series. I purchased it for the sole reason that I enjoyed the first two in this collective series. I find the character of the Sandman to be one of the greatest literary figures in graphic novels today. His words will entice, his patience will amaze, and his strength will force you to think of Superman as the weakest man alive. The Sandman is intelligence, boldness, and heroics all boiled together into one shaded character. He is the epitome of "cool", if one were to phrase it that way. Yet, why would anyone who loves this series think that without the main character, the central focus of the show, would a series be able to survive? If I had started with this collection, I don't believe I would have gone any further.

I know, I seem to be an odd voice in this collection that seems to have garnered award after award for possibly the dullest story ever dreamed by Gaiman. For those fan boys out there that are drooling over the ingenuity of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", I would say - not rudely - but get over it. Sure, there were moments of fun and inspiration, but for the most part this story seemed to go on longer than needed and gave this avid Sandman reader a chance to catch up on some well deserved rest. I had seen Gaiman twist the story of Shakespeare earlier in one of the early collections (I think it was when the Sandman was talking with his "friend", Hob Gadling), but I didn't think he would dedicate half a collection to the birth of an idea. Again, I am not knocking the creativity of the piece, because I saw the premise well, it just felt overly-dramatic coupled with an overall sense of "blah". It was too much for this reader to enjoy. I wanted the fantastical coupled with sinister, and before you say it, this just didn't have it. Sure, there were creatures, but they did not come anywhere close to what I witnessed in the first two collections. I just missed the tone that Gaiman had captured with his creation in the first two collections; obviously this was a completely different step.

How did I enjoy the other stories? I thought that "A Dream of A Thousand Cats" was decent, but again lacking that panache that lingered from the first two books. "Facades" was utterly fun, but diabolically confusing. Who remembers Element Girl? To me, it just seemed too outdated for the rest of the series. My personal favorite was "Calliope", a truly frightening tale of imagination that reminded me of why I am such a big Gaiman fan. It was dark and spooky all at the same time. It was the epitome of what the Sandman represents, then we are left with nothing more a ramshackle of other stories that don't fit the bill. They were a hit or miss with me, as I have read, it seems to be the case with other Gaiman fans. I wanted, and desperately needed, more Sandman. I wanted my character back. I wanted something to breathe life back into this short collection. For those of you wondering where most of the pages remain, there is a huge development of the "Calliope" story at the end which nearly takes up 20 pages. This was a waste of time and space. Obviously, this was the weakest link pertaining to the series.

Overall, I cannot suggest this book to friends or family. If one asks which collection they should start learning about our heroine, the Sandman, in Gaiman's eyes, I would tell them to stay clear of this collection. Dream Country may be giving us a hit of what is to come, but for me it felt tired, bored, and over inflated. While "Calliope" will pull you in, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will confuse you to the point of insanity, or at least give you a good nights rest. Dream Country was weak, and it is obvious with the fact that there was what I like to call "filler" at the end of the collection. If one doesn't have anything worth saying, don't waste my time. This collection will anger any fans of the series that loved the first two. Read through this one quickly, and get to the next. I promise ... it will only get better from here.

Grade: ** out of *****

An Excellent Introduction to Comics' Greatest Series.......2006-10-17

Let me just say that I have kids. They do things that kids are wont to do; make noise, make messes and generally prevent me from reading, my favorite pleasure. So I made a compromise; I wanted to read, but I couldn't get into a book, then I decided to get back into comics. Needless to say, I am a long time comic reader. Superhero stuff mainly. Characters from the DC universe (Batman is my favorite) and Kurt Busiek's Astro City were pretty much it for me.

But I got restless. I needed a change. Not that I've quit reading about superheroes, but I needed to broaden my outlook.

I've long known about Gaiman's classic Sandman series, but at the time, it just didn't seem interesting to me. But I asked a young woman who worked in a comic book store about it. She praised it and recommended the series. Since I didn't know anything about Morpheus or any of his siblings in the endless, she suggested starting off with Dream Country, in what is the third volume of the series.

To veteran Sandman readers, it's a brief collection of four short stories and the shortest book of the lot. But for the novice, it's a superb introduction to Neil Gaiman's brilliant storytelling and a nice way to ease into his fantastic world. I read the collection in a day. I then got the rest of the series. If you like good stories well told, superb characters you want to feel for and a taste for the different, look no further.

I would recommend Sandman to even the most jaded reader. I'd be genuinely shocked of they weren't won over.

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