Book Description
Where will you go when the trouble starts? For countless people around the world, the answer is that bomb shelter down in the basement. In fact, people from around the world have been building shelters to protect themselves from catastrophe—natural disaster, war, nuclear events—for centuries. Waiting for the End of the World is photographer Richard Ross's journey into this quirky, somewhat paranoid, and occasionally beautiful underground world. Ross has documented not only the bomb shelters of the United States, but also examples from Vietnam, Russia, England, Turkey, and even Switzerland, where citizens are required by law to have a bomb shelter.
Ross's subjects include the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, where a shelter was built to house the entire U.S. Congress, shelters in Beijing, where the Chinese built a complete city underground, and Hittite shelters in Eastern Turkey built some 4,000 years ago. His ethereal images show spaces that at once provide only the barest necessities for survival but maintain a level of idiosyncratic personality that testify to the endurance—and wackiness—of the human spirit.
Book Description
Raised in upper-class Boston as the only child of two economists, Thomas Olsen grows up feeling like a perpetual outsider. Athletic and poetic, he eventually settles with more kindred spirits in suburban Indiana. But no one realizes Olsen is hiding a devastating secret.
As English department chairman and basketball coach at an Indiana high school, Olsen endears himself to the locals--yet despite his popularity, he can't shake the loneliness that dogs him. After years of keeping a guilty silence around part of his past, his body and soul have learned to lead separate lives.
Then Olsen develops a father-son bond with Ben Wendling, his student and player, and falls in love with Ben's enigmatic married mother. With Mary and Ben, the missing pieces of Olsen's life somehow feel restored--until a surreal accident changes the course of all their futures.
Download Description
Raised in upper-class Boston as the only child of two economists, Thomas Olsen grows up feeling like a perpetual outsider. Athletic and poetic, he eventually settles with more kindred spirits in suburban Indiana. But no one realizes Olsen is hiding a devastating secret.
As English department chairman and basketball coach at an Indiana high school, Olsen endears himself to the locals
Customer Reviews:
An excellent read.......2007-02-18
I loved every second I got to spend with Tom and Mary, the main characters in Waiting for the World to End. Maybe it was because I could relate to both of them so much, maybe it was simply due to the writing. (It certainly didn't hurt that both Mary Oliver's poetry and Margaret Atwood's fiction showed up in the book.)
This book is for those of us with regrets, for those of us who understand the sadness of living with our own choices and the lonliness of not being connected to anything of real personal value, and for those of us who feel as though we've missed out on the important things in life.
A Look into a complicated man.......2006-06-26
This book brings you into a thinking mode while entertaining you.
A capable man who can make practical reality based decisions who
declines to take control or make things happen in his personal life. A man who reacts rather than acts, through most of his life. It is also introspective of a man's view on loss. I truly felt this was a thinking feeling person's book. All the more remarkable for a first novel writer. even though an experienced writer. Looking forward to the next book from this writer who shows a brilliant future. Entertaining, emotional, and educational, what a combination!
Patt Gronick
Critics prove this novel's achievements.......2006-06-23
Cloaked in this simple story about an Indiana basketball coach and his star player is a subtle, complex, and provocative fable about gender stereotyping and religious bias in individuals and our U.S. society. Our personal and cultural notions of family are also challenged via this fable aspect.
Nicole Hunter is a master of the "show, don't tell" key to good fiction, and the majority of readers in the past two years have picked up on these subtle elements of the text, which accounts for the novel's popularity. Some people, however, have been disappointed because they missed these aspects of the story as they read.
A reader who says Ms. Hunter's male narrator doesn't think or act "like real men do" simply reveals his or her own gender biases and stereotypes ~ which is exactly what Nicole Hunter wants to provoke in individual readers and in book discussions. If you go to one of her library events or book discussions, you'll see what I mean.
A reader who criticizes "clichés" in the text also missed the point ~ and the fun of personal reflection and good conversation about what makes a cliché, what purposes they serve in life and fiction, and the fact that one person's cliché is another person's sincerely felt truth. Who are we to pass judgment for the whole world on what is of value?
A reader who criticizes the "religious propaganda" in the text reveals his or her own religious biases, and also misses the chance for conversation about spiritual matters and how deeply personal such matters are. Why are we so quick to pass judgment on beliefs that differ from our own? What about the human element of walking a mile or two in someone else's shoes, or trying to understand life through their eyes?
I once read that a book review reveals the inner life of the reviewer, not the essence of the book.
If you decide to read Waiting for the World to End, and like the challenge of looking deeper into a text, you'll find your time, money, and energy very well spent.
I made a mistake, you don't need to..........2006-06-23
Is my mistake that I trusted the reviews? That, on itself, is not a mistake. It is a mistake however not knowing what type of book you're reading that has been rated so highly. It's like watching a movie. If a horror movie gets 5 stars you should not expect to see an Oscar-worthy or a Fellini film, right? So the question here is, what type of book is this?
This is a book about a religious group of Midwestern whose lives seems a little bit too simple, where everybody is either great, beautiful and smart...or bad, insensitive and awful. Life is just not like that. Characters are shallow, there are not complexities and there is certainly not much of a plot.
The main character is a basketball coach. A man. The author might know something about hoops but believe me, she does not have any idea how any men I've been around in 35 years (me being one of them) thinks or speaks. Her descriptions of him, the way he speaks, etc. are wishful views from a woman or completely stereotypical (e.g. drinking beer after or before anything).
Even worse, in my humble opinion, the author intends to convey through the characters what is right and what is wrong. Black or white. And all associated with God. God and the religious message is everywhere (the main character looks for his faith -or lack thereof- during the whole book) and seems to be, in the context of this book at least, the solution for everything. Writing about God, religion or religious people can be done well and interestingly, making it...literature; this book looks like religious propaganda, at least to me anyway.
And I am also truly surprised to see the author constantly writing the important lines in bold (you don't need to do that if you write well!) and there is plenty, but plenty of cliché lines. Even cheesy to be honest and more precise.
Now again, my mistake was not knowing what type of book I was buying. If you are a religious and simple person (a truly blessing I would honestly say! -and not punch intended) and see life in very small range of grays you might enjoy this book. Otherwise I can bet you, you will not. Regardless, happy readings!
men v. women.......2006-05-12
this book prompted lots of argument, or should we say discussion ;- ) between the men and women in our group. The majority of men like the character Thomas Olsen and sympathize or identify with him, while most of the women don't like him. Most of the men really like Mary and totally get Olsen's attraction to her (but a few guys think she's a tease), while a lot of the women have serious problems with Mary's behavior. Some of the women in our group really sympathize with Mary, though, because she had a lot of inner conflict but really tried to do the right thing for her son's sake. We all agreed on liking Mary's son Ben so there was no argument there. Most of us have a son or daughter who plays or played high school sports and we all identified with that aspect of the book. We liked the way the author uses poetry in the story ~ it's something different and even those of us who don't like poetry (most of us) felt it added to the characters and how we understood them. We can't remember the last time a book stimulated this good a discussion for us.
Book Description
The best of the Wilford Woodruff Diaries.
Average customer rating:
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Waiting for the Apocalypse
Daniel Cohen
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
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ASIN: 0879752238 |
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- Campernoyles is an archaic word for mushrooms.
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Waiting for the End of the World
Andrew Taylor
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Freelance Death (Penguin Crime Fiction)
ASIN: 0140080635 |
Customer Reviews:
Campernoyles is an archaic word for mushrooms........2004-04-12
Dougal was waiting for Hanbury. Dougal had fallen for Hanbury's studied ambiguity. Malcolm was Dougal's insurance policy. They were in a library in a shapeless northern suburb of London. Hanbury was in a taxi at the exit. Mute hostility flickered between Hanbury and Malcolm.
Hanbury had money to turn over to him conditioned upon the performance of a service by Dougal of conducting a surveillance. He was to keep an eye on Alexander Vertag the leader of a sect. When Dougal went to pay his rent now that he could afford to do so, he discovered that his rent had already been paid for him by Hanbury. Unexpectedly Vertag turns out to be charming and with no trouble Dougal is made his private secretary.
A killing takes place, and Zelda, a friend of Dougal, emerges. Zelda had returned to school and obtained a masters degree in library science. Zelda is kidnapped and transported to a castle. Dougal, who had been inclined to drop out of Hanbury's scheme, had to stay involved for Zelda's sake. Dougal and Zelda end up being strung out in a creepy room. They do not know why they are being bound and held. They manage to untie each other and plot an escape. William Dougal and Zelda are rescued by Malcolm.
It turns out that James Hanbury and Zelda are in league with each other. Hanbury and Zelda are CIA operatives. This is a tale of spooks told in a spooky manner complete with a spooky atmosphere. In this instance a more linear format would have decreased the fuzziness in the story-telling without sacrificing the tension generated.
Average customer rating:
- Ho-hum
- A modern day Dostoevsky?
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Waiting for the End of the World
Madison Smartt Bell
Manufacturer: Ticknor & Fields
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0899193773 |
Customer Reviews:
Ho-hum.......1998-08-24
Post-Modern posturing and hocus pocus masquerading as mysticism and eschatology. Larkin is the closest thing to an interesting character this book presents, and its pacing makes frozen molasses seem to run like quicksilver. No need to mention plot inconsistencies and outright gaffes by the author. The editor should be shot.
A modern day Dostoevsky?.......1997-06-17
A brief look at the list of writers that have sharpened their pencils at the Iowa Writers' Workshop shows how outstanding the talent is that goes through this institution. Writers as diverse and eloquent as Raymond Carver, John Irving, T.C. Boyle and Pinckney Benedict have learnt the tricks of the trade at the Ur-workshop of all creative writing schemes. Madison Smartt Bell has taught there.
Waiting For The End Of The World, his second novel, is a whole lot better plotted and constructed than his already quite promising debut Washington Square Ensemble, delivered at the tender age of 26.
Set in the valleys of Manhattan and Brooklyn, Waiting For The End Of The World is a modern day tale, a dark and doomy epic of Russian proportions. No other book - of the nine novels and two short story collections - that Bell has written to date has even been close to the boiling dark atmospheres, layered and set into deeper and even deeper, unknown systems and tunnels of the ultimate urban landscape that is New York City. Nothing compares to this helter skelter with its seemingly random anecdotes, a definitive plot, and tales of utter lunacy.
As ludicrous as it will sound, Waiting For The End Of The World is a classic on a par with Dostoevsky's works (which did indeed serve as some serious inspiration)
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Waiting for the end of the world
Lee Harding
Manufacturer: Hyland House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0908090560 |
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Adrian Hill's Watercolour Painting for Beginners
Adrian Keith Graham Hill
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0289801036 |
Customer Reviews:
The best of the 3 book set.......2004-07-12
Jason Schneider has written more about collectible cameras than anyone (though British author Ivor Matanle comes close). His monthly (now bi-monthly in Popular Photography) columns in Modern Photography on camera collecting are, for most of us, the fountainhead of camera collecting information. These columns are collected in a three book set, too long out of print.
Volume one is the best of the set, but all are desirable as each is completely different.
Though very opinionated, perhaps even curmudgeonly in tone, these essays are cram-packed with information that can not be found anywhere else. Look forward to hours of enjoyable reading about old cameras and collecting.
If you are interested in camera collecting you MUST have this set. Unfortunately, only available used.
Highly recommended! Two thumbs WAY up!
Customer Reviews:
The first; the best?.......2004-07-12
Jason Schneider has written more about collectible cameras than anyone (though British author Ivor Matanle comes close). His monthly (now bi-monthly in Popular Photography) columns in Modern Photography on camera collecting are, for most of us, the fountainhead of camera collecting information. These columns are collected in a three book set, too long out of print.
Though very opinionated, perhaps even curmudgeonly in tone, these essays are cram-packed with information that can not be found anywhere else. Look forward to hours of enjoyable reading about old cameras and collecting.
If you are interested in camera collecting you MUST have this set. Unfortunately, only available used.
Highly recommended! Two thumbs WAY up!
Book Description
30 Days of Night was one of the undisputed success stories of modern comics, spawning a bestselling trade paperback, a major motion picture deal, and the attention of thousands of fans longing for an innovative tale of terror. Now the same creative team revisits Barrow, Alaska, the town where it all began, as the long night creeps once more over the tundra. Some things may have changed, but the horror remains...
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-04
The brother of one of the men that died at Barrow moves there to take up the sheriff position, and find out what really goes on.
The vampires are real, and one of them that comes this time is an FBI agent with a much better grasp of the tactics of conflict.
Luckily for the remaining people, they have some mystery assistance.
let down.......2007-06-06
this book was a let bown because it was no where near as good as 30 days of night. nothing new happens.. is way to similar the the first one..
Disappointing and Unsatisfactory........2006-12-12
I've read both the original 30 Days of Night and the first sequel Dark Days, which were both very enjoyable and entertaining. However, this sequel felt completely unnecessary. The original story was done and done, and this one added nothing at all. It's basically a repeat of the first book, with no new ideas whatsoever.
I tend to think that Steve Niles' writing is serviceable at best, but this time it just didn't have anything memorable at all. Dark Days, the first sequel, actually had very memorable characters, but Return to Barrow was very blah. So yeah, going in, I didn't think the story would be great, but I really did love the art from the first two novels - this time though, it really felt like Ben Templesmith just phoned it in. Or maybe I've just grown used to Templesmith's unique style and so it isn't so original anymore. Really, it felt like both creators phoned in this unnecessary sequel. Overall, I would say skip this one.
A very good addition to the 30 Days of Night Saga.......2006-02-21
Steve Niles' 30 Days of Nights and its follow-up Dark Days were two vampire stories that really hooked me in and wouldn't let go. Niles' finally created a vampire tale that eschewed the Anita Blake and Anne Rice oversexually-obsessed, brooding, and nonscary vampires that became so popular for some reason. Sure Niles' vampires were still well, and sharply dressed but that's were the similarities end. His vampires in both stories were vicious, bloodthirsty, sadistic and most of evil. There wasn't anything to like about these vampires and Niles' made sure that our sympathies were with the living.
In 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow, Steve Niles brings back the series to the site of the first story and that's the Alaskan town of Barrow. A place still recovering from the events that transpired with the first story-arc. Those survivors who stayed and those who were away during the slaughter return to pick up the pieces of the town's shattered lives. But a group of vampires looking to avenge the deaths of the first group and continue their idea of using Barrow as ahunting ground have other ideas. T
There's really not much new that Niles' adds to what he's already told in the first story. The human inhabitants of Barrow must once again try to survive a vampiric onslaught by themselves with no governmental help. But this time around they know whats coming and have devised countermeasures that they hope would be enough to help them last the month-long night. This wouldn't be a horror comic if everything went as planned. They don't and things get bloody and horrific. The story continues on bloody page to bloody page until the conclusion where a twist on the forest guardian plot technique comes out of the shadows. This ending and those who make their surprising apperance gives Return to Barrow abit more of an optimistic resolution than the previous two books. Usually I would've complained that it was just so Deus Ex Machina, but it made sense and showed that not all vampires must succumbed to their killing nature.
30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow continues the fine story Niles' first started many years ago with 30 Days of Night and Dark Days. Though there wasn't much new things added in terms of ideas, the twist in the end made everything come together to give Return to Barrow its own identity from the other two. Fans of the first two books will not be disappointed.
Excellent cap to the trilogy.......2005-03-15
Some series are identified from the first as "a trilogy in the making". Others start as nominal 1-offs, then spawn a sequel, and then become series only through aggregation.
The second model is arguably harder to pull off, because either (1) the author hasn't planned ahead to inject future plot threads into early stories, or (2) the author does undertake such planning, but has to disguise those incomplete arcs so that early volumes can stand on their own.
I don't know whether Niles envisioned Barrow as a trilogy from the first issue of 30 Days, but my temptation is to doubt it. Rather, I think he was as surprised by the success of 30 Days as everyone else, and had to invent the second and third volumes within the boundaries of the story already established.
That's what makes 30 Days and its sequels so enjoyable. When the first volume came out, it functioned perfectly well as a self-contained story. Then when Dark Days followed after, the series became a neatly balanced two-fer, with the plot and dialog complexities of the latter balancing nicely against the voiceless horror of the original.
And now Return to Barrow re-defines both previous volumes, by making each seem to flow with perfect precision into this final showdown. Threads we had thought fully closed were in fact only temporarily tied; the elaborate final knot had not yet been revealed. Characters we assumed complete still had one last transformation in store.
Like the undead so beautifully rendered, Niles reminds us that no story ever fully dies while it still has its head.
Books:
- Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers: Illusions of Open Space in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai
- West Coast Bungalows of the 1920s: With Photographs and Floor Plans
- Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective : A Publication and Exhibition Organized by the Architectural League of New Y
- 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean in Art and Myth
- 40 Houses
- A Grammar of Old Turkic (Handbook of Oriental Studies)
- A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV
- AISC Manual of Steel Construction: Load and Resistance Factor Design, Second Edition, LRFD, 2nd Edition, (Volume 1: Structural Members, Specifications, & Codes), (1994)
- Antoine Predock: Houses
- Apremont (Small Books of Great Gardens) (Small Books of Great Gardens)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Unknown God: Searching for Spiritual Fulfillment
- Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun'
- Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks
- Nebula Awards Showcase 2005
- Mitsubishi- Galant/Mirage/Diamante 1990-00
- Practical Guide To Chemometrics, Second Edition
- Perspectives on Culture, Technology And Communication: The Media Ecology
- Pandora's Box: The Changing Aspects of a Mythical Symbol
- Gifts of the Wild: A Woman's Book of Adventure
- War & Love Letters: A Marine Reservist Recalls Living, Learning, Loving & Letters in World W
Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America
One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter in American Culture (American History and Culture)
COLD WAR SECRET NUCLEAR BUNKERS: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War (Pen & Sword Military Classics)
The Doomsday Scenario: How America Ends
Life After Doomsday
