Hotel Harbor View, Volume 1 (Hotel Harbor View)

Customer Reviews:

Hotel Harbor View.......2005-02-10

This is without a doubt some of the best art work I have ever seen in a graphic novel. The detail is unbelievable. The 2 stories are fast paced and have a common theme. The results in both stories are the same. This really puts the "graphic" in the graphic novel.

Hong Kong and Paris never looked so good.......2003-11-12

The book is a step ahead of most comics out today. There are two stories - both focused on a single person trying to come to terms with life in incredible cities: Hong Kong and Paris. There is danger, love, mystery and loss - like listening to Billie Holliday while drinking a strong whiskey straight. The scenes are beautifully constructed - sharp black & white - that bring you into the characters of both cities. The innovation in storytelling is amazing - angle choices and panel layouts are simple and surprising.

Any fan of 100 Bullets, Transmetropolitan, Alias or Hellblazer will get a kick out of this.

Film-noir manga of the highest caliber........2000-04-01

The key to "Hotel Harbor View" is that it is about emptiness, not fulfillment. The story is a masterwork of despair and death, and tries to comprehend whether or not death is anything more than a moment. Is the act of dying important, or merely the final page?

"Hotel Harbor View" is not for everyone. It's definitely more adult manga (i.e. Japanese comics) with both nudity and violence, but it's time the American audience start understanding comics aren't just for kids.

If you're looking for noir-ish fiction that evokes those hopeless stories of the 1940's, this is a great piece of work to get.

Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George serves up a century's worth of superb crime fiction penned by women. This veritable all-star team delivers tales of dark deeds that will keep you reading long into the night. Included are these works:

"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell
The Summer of People" by Shirley Jackson
"The Irony of Hate" by Ruth Rendell
"Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer
"Wild Mustard" by Marcia Muller
"Murder-Two" by Joyce Carol Oates

A Moment on the Edge is a rare treat not only for fans of crime fiction but also for anyone who appreciates a skillfully written, deftly told story.

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2005-09-28

I was very satisfied with the books, and I got them very fast, within couple days.

Fantastic book.......2005-03-11

I'm not normally a fan of short stories, but I decided that I couldn't pass up a book edited by one of my favorite writers, Elizabeth George. And I'm certainly glad that I gave this book a chance! It is filled with deliciously chilling stories that will haunt you long after you finish them.

An Awesome Collection.......2004-08-22

This is an anthology of the best short stories by some of the best female writers in the English language. Awesome. The stories by Susan Glaspel, Ruth Rendell, and Sharyn McCrumb make it worth it alone!! Highly recommend!

This Excellent Collection is an Absolute Delight.......2004-07-25

I'm sometimes commitment phobic --- not at all in a relationship sense (my husband's saying, "Uh, that's GOOD!") but when it comes to reading. Occasionally, I just don't feel like investing the energy in a novel. No, I'd rather dally. A short story collection is the perfect solution at these times, much like sampling dim sum rather than sitting down to a seven-course feast. I've been on a short story binge lately, and it's been so delicious that my love affair with short fiction has been rekindled.

A MOMENT ON THE EDGE is a massive (over 500 pages) compilation of luscious tidbits. The editor, much-loved mystery novelist Elizabeth George, starts us out with a fascinating introduction discussing our simultaneous fascination with crime stories and the low value many people place on it. She briefly sums up the history of female mystery writers. About the authors of this anthology, George says: "All of them share in common a desire to explore mankind in a moment on the edge. The edge equates to the crime committed. How the characters deal with the edge is the story."

The collection begins with "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell (1917) and ends with "English Autumn--American Fall" by Minette Walters (2001). The variety of crime stories is immense, including cozies, murder mysteries, suspense tales, horror stories, psychological studies, and more. Reading the older tales and then moving on to the more modern works is a subtle education in how crime stories have changed over the years.

Some of the authors' contributions are completely unlike their novels (for example, Nancy Pickard's dark "Afraid All the Time.") In other cases, characters from an author's novels appear in her short story (such as Sara Paretsky's "The Case of the Pietro Andromache.") I joyfully became reacquainted with authors I've loved (and nearly forgotten) for years, such as Charlotte Armstrong and Shirley Jackson. I also discovered many writers whose novels I will now find and devour, having sampled their wares.

I must admit to sometimes skimming and/or skipping stories in an anthology if they don't catch my interest. However, I was never tempted to skim or skip a word in this fine collection. In such a group of stellar tales, I discovered a few personal standouts:

· A ghost appears in Agnes and Oscar's RV as they winter in Arizona ("Death of a Snowbird" by J. A. Jance), setting the plot spinning and giving me goose bumps.

· A picnicking couple discusses their relationship in "The River Mouth" by Lia Matera. They're approached by someone who puts the STRANGE in the word "stranger" --- and completely creeped me out.

· Joyce Carol Oates's "Murder-Two" is gut-churningly disturbing. My first inclination is to say I hated this piece about a murdered mother, yet I'll never forget the plot or my strong reaction to it.

· "Afraid All the Time" by Nancy Pickard, in which a woman's move to the plains sends her over the edge into depression and fear, impressed me with its darkness and unpredictable twists.

· One man suggests to another that he has the means to murder anyone in Dorothy Sayers's "The Man Who Knew How," a fine exercise in obsession, psychological suspense and blackest irony

. · A dirt-poor woman discovers how to step up to finer living in "A Nice Place to Stay" by Nedra Tyre, a story with sociological implications that ring true today.

A MOMENT ON THE EDGE is an absolute delight. Don't wait for commitment phobia to strike before treating yourself to this excellent collection.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

terrific deference to the ladies of crime.......2004-07-04

This twenty-six short story collection pays homage to some of the great female mystery-thriller writers of the past century and showcases how brilliant women are at authoring crime tales. The anthology is set up in chronological order starting with the 1917 "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell and ending with a pair of works published in 2001. Most of the works occur in the second fifty years with most of those in the final quarter. Only two entries are pre WWII and in addition only two others comprise the first fifty years. Either Editor Elizabeth George is not familiar with the pioneers or women have come a long way in a quantity sense as the number of distaff authors has exponentially grown since the World War I-Great depression eras.

The quality of the compilation is top notch as Ms. George has provided a virtual who's who with some of their best shorts included in this book. Fans of stories that run the gamut of the mystery-thriller genres but share in common taking the reader to "A Moment on the Edge" (and in some cases over the edge) will appreciate this terrific deference to the ladies of crime.

Customer Reviews:

Fun ancedotes written by Mr. Burns himself.......2007-08-18

It seems that no matter what he writes about, from the introduction about getting older to his nurse readjusting his toupee, he does it so very well with humor. (I did not even know that he wore a toupee!)

These are really short one to two page stories of incidents that had occurred during his lifetime. It may or may not have you laughing out loud. It will at the very least, bring a smile to your face.

A very funny book.......2005-04-22

This came out almost the day Burns passed away. This is a very funny anecdotal review of George Burns' entire life -- many of the stories go back to his childhood. (His one-liner when the tough Irish kids in his neighborhood demanded to know if he was Catholic is priceless! Good thing he was a fast runner....)

He was a very funny guy, and the book reads as though you could bring him back for a day and hang out while he just sits and tells stories. A lot of fun -- too bad it seems to be out of print.

Hilarious!!.......1998-07-31

I bought this book with the intention of reading one or two stories a day. I couldn't put it down. I was laughing out loud and my children begged me to read them what was so funny. I would read them some and they enjoyed it as much as I did. What started out as a month or so of giggles turned into an afternoon of belly-laughs.

Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitve Story of the First 100 Years

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Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitve Story of the First 100 Years
Rick Glanvill
Manufacturer: Headline
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Soccer | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

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General | Soccer | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0755314654

A Horse's Tale: Ten Adventures in 100 Years

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History and Multicultural Points of View... All in One!

A Horse's Tale: Ten Adventures in 100 Years
Nancy Luenn
Manufacturer: Parenting Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

ASIN: 0943990505

Book Description

A wooden toy horse, passed from child to child, introduces us to 10 children who lived in 10 different decades and different parts of Washington state. Starting with an 11-year-old on an 1890s wheat farm, this book describes the everyday life of a Native American girl sent away to boarding school, a logger's son who conquers his fear of heights, a polio victim who meets President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a Laotion immigrant settling into an American school. Includes a glossary of ethnic and historical terms. A useful supplement to standard Washington state history texts.

Customer Reviews:

History and Multicultural Points of View... All in One!.......2000-06-28

A Horse's Tale is a collection of ten short stories that have a number of common themes. It is about a wooden toy horse that gets passed around to a different child living in Washington State each decade. The horse is carved by a Native American Uncle who gives it to his niece as she is leaving her home to attend a mission boarding school in the late 1800's. In each subsequent chapter, ten years pass and the horse has found itself in the arms of a different child.

The children in each chapter are from diverse cultural backgrounds. The horse is passed to an African American boy living in Roslyn, a Japanese girl living in an internment camp in Puyallup, a Laotian girl living in Seattle and six others. Each decade illustrates the challenges that the minority culture is facing at that particular time in history.

100 years pass as the reader learns about the history and culture of Washington State through the experiences of the children living there.

I have used this book in my 4th grade classrooms as an overview of the different cultures, experiences, and history of our state. It is a wonderful introduction to the geography of our state, giving us something to which we refer back as we study maps of our area.

Average customer rating:

Incorrect Information

TERRIBLE

Very uneven

War on the docks

History Isn't Always Pretty

Crime Incorporated: The Inside Story of the Mafia's First 100 Years
William Balsamo , and George Carpozi
Manufacturer: New Horizon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Organized Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0882820737

Book Description

Based on previously unavailable information and nearly two decades of research, Crime Incorporated reveals for the first time all the unsavory facts of the Mob’s bloody evolution from a gang of uncouth, bumbling killers into the highly organized, smoothly running “corporation” it is today. William Balsamo, great-nephew of the first godfather, Don Giuseppe — “Battista” — Balsamo, and George Carpozi, Jr. disclose the Mob’s savage beginnings in the group of Italian immigrants — the “Black Hand” — who tore control of New York’s waterfronts away from the Irish racketeers — the “White Hand” — and went from there. They trace the Black Hand’s coalescence into an organization whose insidious influence reached across the country and into a presidential administration.

Crime Incorporated explores the horrifying facts behind the rise and fall of the Mob’s most notorious leaders and goes behind the headlines of Rudolph Giuliani’s pursuit of the Mob — the Pizza Connection and Commission trials — to cite with chilling clarity the Mafia’s control over daily life in America. Crime Incorporated reads like a novel. But it is frightening, deadly truth.

Customer Reviews:

Incorrect Information.......2002-12-11

Anyone who gives this book a positive review has not read much about the Mafia. Ccoon's review nails this book dead on. First off the author's attempt to tackle an impossible topic, the first one hundred years of the Mafia, to accomplish this, the book would have to be several volumes. They should have stuck with the beginning and gone into further detail about how the Mob originated in the United States. This part is very interesting, as I had not read much on the topic, but I question the legitimacy of it after going on to read the rest of the book, and finding several inaccuracies. For those looking to learn about the Mafia, pick an era or event and just try and find a book about that, and avoid this one if you want to know the real story.

TERRIBLE.......1999-10-19

This is clearly the worst mafia novel I have ever read! The only interesting part is in the beginning when the author describes the wars between the Italians and Irish, then the book wanes incredibly with apparent unresearched information. I have more knowledge of the mafia than these writers'!! I found myself incessantly correcting names and dates as well as spelling.This book had some of the worst spelling I have ever seen; practically every page had a misspelled name! I advise anyone who's fond of mafia novels not to purchase this book, you'll just throw it away anyhow!

Very uneven.......1999-10-08

Once you get past the 20s the book dries up, until you get to the 80s and a section that must have been written by Guliani's p.r. firm. The writing is not good (how many times can the author say someone died of "lead poisoning?") and the editing matches the writing. If you are not from New York, and want to know anything about the Mafia from 1930-1985, than this book is not for you.

War on the docks.......1999-08-10

This books is primarily a book about the wars on the docks between the Irish and Italians during the 1920's. It goes into great detail about this but then falls off once they get into the 1930's and flies through the remaining 50 years. If you want to know how the Italians became the controlling power in New York and wiped out the Irish, then this book will passify you.

History Isn't Always Pretty.......1999-05-28

Liked the historical perspective and pov. My own grandfather worked on Petrosino's elite squad of cops in the early part of the century. This book is a faithful re-telling of his own stories to me as a kid. Nary a Brando or De Niro in sight!

New Dubliners: Celebrating 100 Years of Joyce's Dubliners

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Strange new Dublin

New Dubliners: Celebrating 100 Years of Joyce's Dubliners

Manufacturer: Pegasus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1933648090

Book Description

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the year in which Joyce penned his famous -collection, New Dubliners presents eleven deeply human, evocative stories set in the Irish capital, by such award-winning and leading Irish authors as Roddy Doyle, Colum McCann, Joseph O'Connor, Bernard MacLaverty, and Frank McGuinness.

Customer Reviews:

Strange new Dublin.......2007-03-30

"New Dubliners" is a collection of short stories by Irish writers. It was put together to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Joyce's "Dubliners." When Joyce was alive, Dublin was the armpit of Europe. Poor and dirty and strewn with tenements, Joyce captures this world perfectly.

One hundred years later and Dublin has the fastest growing economy in Europe and for the first time in its history has to deal with immigrants--people actually want to come to the small island. Like "Dubliners," "New Dubliners" is a series of snapshots of the city. Rich with new money, poor, riding horses and fighting for jobs or wives who just want to get out. "New Dubliners" is a must read for any lover of short stories. It's also essential to learning about this strange and vibrant city.

Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction

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Great for the Vampire within
A must for horror/vampire fans
Excellent Collection of Stories

Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction
Richard Matheson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0195115937

Book Description

In the past hundred years, since the publication of Bram Stoker's infamous book, no literary figure has enjoyed a more horrific resiliency than Count Dracula. In film, television, novels, and short stories, he keeps coming back to life, fed by the vital imaginative energies of a world-wide audience that cannot seem to resist his abominable charms. Aristocratic and urbane, deeply erotic and profoundly evil, Dracula's bloodsucking savagery has cast a mesmerizing fascination not only over his victims but over his readers as well. And, as Leonard Wolf suggests, "Vampire fiction...exerts an amazing pull on readers for a reason that we may find disturbing. The blood exchange--the taking of blood by the vampire from his or her victim is, all by itself, felt to be a singularly symbolic event. Symbolic and attractive!" Now, in Blood Thirst: One Hundred Years of Vampire Fiction, Leonard Wolf brings together thirty tales in which vampires of all varieties make their ghastly presence felt--male and female, human and non-human, humorous and heroic--all of them kin to the dreadful bat. From Lafcadio Hearn, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, Edith Wharton, August Derleth, and Ray Bradbury to such contemporary masters as Anne Rice, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, John Cheever, and Woody Allen, and in settings as diverse as rural New England and outer space, this collection offers readers a dazzling compendium of vampire stories. Wolf organizes the collection into six categories--The Classic Adventure Tale, The Psychic Vampire, The Science Fiction Vampire, The Non-Human Vampire, The Comic Vampire, and The Heroic Vampire--which allows readers to see the many guises Dracula's descendants have assumed and the many ways they can be interpreted. In his penetrating introduction, Wolf argues that such an arrangement enables us to see the evolution of the vampire from an unmitigated evil to a creature we are more likely to identify with. "In a century in which God and Satan have become increasingly irrelevant in the popular arts, there has been an accompanying secularization of the vampire idea. And, as the stories in Blood Thirst will show, sympathy for the vampire has grown as we have become increasingly interested in the workings of the mind." Indeed, the vampire's ability to change over time, to draw into itself such a richness of symbolic meanings, to conjure itself into so many diabolical shapes, may account for the enduring appeal of the literature written about it. Here, then, is a definitive collection for aficionados and novices alike, and whether readers find the vampires who inhabit these pages sympathetic or horrific, psychologically intriguing or spiritually repellent, morbidly seductive or comically absurd, Blood Thirst gives us all something to sink our teeth into.

Customer Reviews:

Great for the Vampire within .......2007-01-26

Thirty tales of vampire fiction, from the classical blood sucker to science fiction monster to the comic relief. From such great authors as Anne Rice and Stephen King, to interesting choices such as Woody Allen and Hanns Heinz Ewers, and authors I love such as Tanith Lee and Richard Matheson (who are also great), we get a ton of vampire literature. If there is a style of vampire story you like this is the book to get and the best part is if you discover a new author who pushes your buttons you can go find their works. And if they don't push your button you have 29 other stories to make you happy.
Read! Feast! Enjoy!

A must for horror/vampire fans.......2000-04-04

This novel brings together works of so many amazing talented writers: Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Algernon Blackwood, Joyce Carol Oates...just to name a few! Be on the lookout for "Count Dracula" by Woody Allen; whether you love him or hate him, this short story is a hoot!

This one lets you sink your teeth into some quick, sometimes chilling, sometimes humorous, sometimes just plain weird vampire stories. It will also introduce you to some incredible authors, and I bet you'll race to buy more of their works. Wolf breaks down this collection into categories: The Classic Adventure Tale; The Psychological Vampire; The Science Fiction Vampire; The Non-Human Vampire; The Comic Vampire; and The Heroic Vampire. Horror and vampire fans will recognize some of these stories (King's is an excerpt of SALEM'S LOT) from other novels or collections. But this one is a tasty treat (yes, all puns intended) that I found delightful!

Excellent Collection of Stories.......1998-07-15

I great collection of modern vampire stories. Several of the stories are actually chapters from longer novels, which only entices the reader to read those novels too. Wonderful read, but with the lights on!

THE TACOMA PUBLIC UTILITIES STORY: THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893-1993

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THE TACOMA PUBLIC UTILITIES STORY: THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893-1993

Manufacturer: TAcoma Public Utilities
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0963768417

Treasury of Short Stories Containing favorites of the past 100 years from Turenev to Thurber, from Balzac to Hemmingway

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Treasury of Short Stories Containing favorites of the past 100 years from Turenev to Thurber, from Balzac to Hemmingway
Bernardine Kielty
Manufacturer: Simon & Shuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition

ASIN: B000K034YY

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